For some people on vacation the destination was a lakeside campsite, but for many it was the summer cottage or cabin by the lake. For others who it was a Winter activity that brought with it the long-anticipated excitement of driving up to your favorite mountain and throwing open the doors to a modest old ski lodge that one could call home for the next week or so which are all recreational properties. But unless one was lucky enough to inherit dad's cabin, the thought of purchasing one piece of recreational paradise can be daunting for most young families that are on a budget.

With prices still on the rise and demand for vacation homes brisk notwithstanding the general slowdown in real estate, there are a few bright lights for homeowners looking to pick up a second home or recreational properties.

The Canadian Mortgage And Housing Corporation has instituted recently a new program that will provide Homeowner Mortgage Loan Insurance for borrowers with more than one residential property. This means that Purchasers can now obtain a mortgage insured by the Canadian Mortgage And Housing Corporation on a recreational property with as little as five percent down.

Traditionally getting institutional financing for a vacation property was a challenge, because lenders typically based their lending decisions on the risk of reselling this type of recreational properties. As many second homes are located outside urban centers and, more often than not, in remote rural or coastal areas they might have limited resale potential, which from a mortgaging point of view increased the risk of financing. To mitigate this risk, lenders would require borrowers to put up more money down - as much as thirty-five percent or more, in fact. Even well-known and popular destinations such as Whistler, British Columbia required a minimum of twenty-five percent down payment.

But lifestyles are changing and these changes affect decisions that real estate consumer's make regarding how and where to live. So the Canadian Mortgage And Housing Corporation has made a move to put vacation properties within reach of more people. With a constant and steady increase in demand for this type of properties, the Canadian Mortgage And Housing Corporation has determined that the market is such that it is willing to insure lenders against potential losses. This is welcome news for those who have been longing to get a recreational property but did not want to wait until retirement to come up with the down payment.

All Canadian Mortgage And Housing Corporation's products are permitted to be used with the Homeowner Mortgage Loan Insurance and since most major institutional lenders already have their own recreational property mortgage products, consumers have the flexibility to choose the type of financing that is right for them.

However, as with most types of financing, there are some key limitations that is important to be clear on. The purpose of the Homeowner Mortgage Loan Insurance is to make it more feasible for consumers to purchase a second home. It is important to distinguish between a second home and a rental property from recreational properties. Purchase a rental property with five percent down. The guideline states that at initiation