The new stress-test rules come into effect for borrowers today – Monday, October 17th.    What does this mean to you?  If you have less-than-20% down payment you’re going to have to qualify for a mortgage at a much higher criteria. As of today, you must qualify at the benchmark rate of 4.74% interest rather than a 5 year fixed rate at 2.39%.  On average that’s about 20-25% less in borrowing ability than before.  This is just one of many changes the government is making.  Why is the government making these changes? –To keep Canadians out of debt –To protect the government's interest –To crack down on foreign real-estate speculation by closing a tax loophole that some foreign buyers have used to claim exemptions in