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TORONTO — Cameron Klem, a business owner in the construction industry, is looking to sell his home in Edmonton and buy a new one closer to the school his fiancee, a teacher, has been transferred to.

But despite a solid credit score, “huge revenue” and having been in business for seven years, Klem is having trouble securing a mortgage.

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“It’s a pain,” says Klem. “It makes me ask myself if being self-employed is even really worth it when you have to go through this much trouble.”

The federal government may be ready to take direct aim at Canada’s red-hot housing market, and is actively consulting on a move to increase the minimum down payment required to buy a house, the Financial Post has learned.





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Experts say lenders have become more stringent when it comes to providing mortgages to the self-employed, which could leave business owners shelling out more money to the taxman in order to prove their incomes.