Friends and family mortgage
Better together - share a mortgage with your family and friends
The Friends and Family Mortgage makes it easier for you to afford a home by allowing up to four people to get a mortgage together.
What is a friends and family mortgage?
It’s a great option if you have family who want to help you buy a home, if you’re a multi-generational family living together, or if you’re not part of a conventional two-income family. Not everyone sharing the mortgage has to move in, but one owner needs to live there - you can’t use it as a rental property. Available for all Meridian mortgages.
What you need to know about joint ownership
Shared liability
All co-owners are equally and 100% liable for the mortgage if someone cannot pay or wants to sell. This applies even if you each hold different shares of the home’s equity.
Legal joint ownership agreement
Getting legal advice and setting up a formal agreement is a great way to smooth over any future conflicts - like what happens if someone wants to sell or move out. Legal advice is not required as part of the application process, but we highly recommend it.
House rules
Home ownership can come with as many challenges as rewards, especially if you’re all living together. Even if you don’t set up a legal agreement, it’s important to agree on how you’ll make decisions about your home - like how you’re going to share the costs of property taxes, utility bills, insurance, and repairs.
Meridian mortgage perks
Be mortgage free sooner
We call it 20/20 prepayment. Pay off up to 20% more of your mortgage each year through a combination of prepaying more of your original principal balance and increasing your original mortgage payment.
Skip a payment
Life happens. Breathe easier knowing that you can skip one month’s mortgage payment once every 12 months with no penalty.
Flexible schedules
Choose from weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, or accelerated weekly or bi-weekly payment plans - whatever works for you.
Mortgage protection
Take advantage of Group Mortgage Protection (GMP) - a monthly premium that helps safeguard your home in case of financial hardships as a result of conditions such as death, disability, critical illness or loss of employment.
This creditor group insurance coverage is optional and is underwritten by The Canada Life Assurance Company (Canada Life). Supporting services, such as enrollment intake, medical underwriting and claims administration are provided by the employees of Canada Life. Coverage is governed by the terms and conditions of the creditor group insurance policy issued to the creditor and is subject to terms, conditions, exclusions and eligibility requirements. See the Certificate of Insurance for full coverage details
Questions? There are several ways to get in touch