Let the Owing begin!

It was the last unit of a grimy strip mall on Simcoe Street South, the company name was RayCan Financial and we trooped fearfully into the place, ready to be educated as to how we could buy a home with almost no money to our name.

The downstairs room was smokey and the larger than life man with the gold identity bracelet and neck chain, drawing on a cigar, was Frank Callaghan. It was outlined to the pair of us how the mortgaging of everything would be accomplished, primary mortgage, promissory note that would convert to a secondary mortgage after completion and fees, fees, fees.

The first mortgage would be 90% of the house purchase price and because of the ratio, the mortgage had to be insured with the CMHC or Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, that would add a premium to the house price, then the Primary mortgage lenders, Family Trust, had their own fees, legal fees of course and then "special" fees for RayCan and that promissory note conversion.

After signing a bunch of unread paperwork, we left, stunned.

What had we done?