Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open.

If I have a lot of debt and the housing market is rising, should I rent and slowly pay off my debt or buy and roll the debt into a mortgage?
The only way to "roll" debt into a home purchase is to have sufficient down payment.  Under the "new" lending rules that took effect in Canada earlier this year, you must have at least 5% of the purchase price as a down payment.  If you have $60,000 in additional debt, the total amount of mortgage still cannot be greater than 95% of the purchase price.  Below is an example. Purchase price of home $200,000. Maximum mortgage $190,000 (95% of purchase price) Total outside debt $60,000 That means the mortgage (other than the current debt of $60k) can only be $130,000 This means you would need a down payment of $70,000. Also keep in mind that I have not included any other legal fees, real estate commissions, etc in this example. Since it is safe to assume that you do not have $70k available for a down payment, renting and paying down the debt is likely the better route.  Pay off the credit card(s) first as they have the higher interest amount. Best of luck!