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A 10-per-cent down payment is required for the portion of the price over $500,000, with $1 million being the maximum property value allowed.

The mortgage insurance comes with a premium, which the lender will then pass on to the person buying the home.

Borrowers need to satisfy lenders they will be able to make their mortgage payments, which usually means providing proof of employment and a few pay stubs. But that can be tricky for people who just started their own business.

It can also be a barrier to those whose employment history has gaps for other reasons, such as having recently immigrated to Canada.

People who are self-employed, for example, usually need to provide notices of assessment for the previous two years. Their income is determined by averaging those two years, although the most recent year can be used if it has increased annually for at least four years.

They also need to have been doing the same type of work for at least two years.

Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said more flexibility would be welcome, especially for startups.

“If one starts a business or is self-employed, the lines between their personal and business finances are often quite blurry,” said Kelly.

“Often, their personal assets are required to get financing for the business. But then they also have a challenge getting financing on the personal side, because they don’t have the nice, clean letter of offer from an employer that is often quite convincing in these situations,” he said.