Financing a Vacation or Second Home

A second home you'll personally use for part of the year — a cottage, a ski chalet — can often still qualify for insured, lower-down-payment financing if it meets certain conditions: typically that it's suitable for year-round occupancy and reasonably accessible, not solely a seasonal or remote property.

This is a meaningful distinction from a pure rental/investment property, which cannot be insured and always requires conventional (20%+) financing — the difference hinges specifically on personal use, not just on whether the property might occasionally be rented out.

If you plan to rent out a second home some of the time to help cover costs, some rental income may be counted toward qualifying, but usually more conservatively than a dedicated rental property, since occasional personal-use properties are a different risk profile to lenders than full-time rentals.

Ongoing costs matter more than buyers often expect for a second property: property tax, insurance, utilities, and maintenance don't pause when the property is empty for months, and these often surprise first-time cottage buyers used to budgeting for a primary residence only.