Qualifying rate
When qualifying for a mortgage, the lender will require you to be qualified for a specific rate regardless of the term or product you take. The concept of a qualifying rate is to reduce the amount of Canadians who are over-leveraging themselves. In the event you have 20% or greater down payment on purchase or 20% or greater equity on a refinance, you are clearly not over-leveraging yourself and are no subject to these rules. The current qualifying rate for high ratio mortgages is the rate calculated against your income, liabilities and down payment (or equity) to figure out the size of the mortgage you qualify for.