The ink wasn’t even dry on the contract as fire tore through the Burnaby condo Nazreen Ali was going to purchase. In an instant, the joy of buying a new home was replaced by fear and stress.
But the fire was just the start of her problems.
“I’m not even looking right now because part of my down payment is sitting with them,” Ali said.
Ali had ported her mortgage from her previous home. Royal Bank of Canada gave her 90 days to complete a transaction to avoid paying a penalty. She couldn’t follow through on the deal for the condo as she couldn’t afford to pay a mortgage on a place that was uninhabitable while also paying rent to live somewhere else. The seller let her back out of the deal but RBC refused to budge, saying the penalty of nearly $6,800 would still apply.
“I’m not somebody that can just lose almost $7,000,” Ali said. “I just find that they weren’t willing to help the little person out.”
In a statement, RBC said Ali has been presented with two options: she could either get half her money back or a new lower interest rate that would save her the money over the long term. Both choices are still valid if she chooses to purchase a new home.
Ali can’t believe she doesn’t qualify for an exception.
“I have a Visa with them, I have a bank account with them and I had my mortgage with them,” she said. “All that will be closing pretty soon because they didn’t show any compassion.”
-With files from Aaron McArthur
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