First time buyer need help with financing options in Regina

[Khadija Isse]

Hi there, I am a first time buyer/investor looking to buy in the Regina real estate market. I am currently a college student in an accounting program with moderately low income/credit score. I am looking for financing options to purchase my first property to house hack in with roommates but would like the flexibility of being able to move and rent it out. I am currently saving for a down-payment of 20-30% to help increase my chances on a property that cost no more then 70k. So far I have been able to save roughly 17% of that and will start working full time when this school semester finishes in April to aggressively add to it and reach my goal by the end of this summer, (hopefully sooner). If anyone is able to point me in the direction of help that would be awesome as well as give any insight on the neighborhoods in Regina, particularly Washington Park. I have heard mixed reviews as it is a low income area but I am planning on taking a trip and spending time there this summer before finalizing any decisions. 

[Brandon P.]

You are correct, there aren’t as many individual renters in the smaller communities, you would probably need to plan on renting the whole house out.

There normally isn’t much inventory in the smaller towns and this year the inventory seems to be lower than normal. It would be worth it to check out kijiji and Facebook marketplace as well to see if there are any listings for sale by the owners, as this is more common in small towns.

You are correct with the criteria the mortgage companies/banks will be looking for, they will want to see you have a full time job in the area you want to buy a house in, especially if you are only putting 5% down.