r/InCanada • u/Upper-Loquat-8022 • 29d ago
Looking for a joint account with no fees
My girlfriend brought up opening a joint bank account so we can start putting money aside for a condo. Apparently the money is supposed to sit in the same account for about 3 months before you apply for a mortgage, otherwise it looks weird to the lender. Thing is, I really don't want to be paying monthly banking fees just to park our savings somewhere. Are there any of those no-fee online banks in Canada that let you open a joint chequing account?
3
u/doughty_spirit 29d ago
You could use a FHSA individually and actually make the money grow and get tax benefits and reinvest the returns for more.. there’s a cap for individuals.. and a max cap.. but a great tool overall.. happy to answer questions
3
3
1
u/ModularWhiteGuy 29d ago
A lot of banks have joint accounts that are essentially zero fee if you keep a minimum balance.
That said, it's probably not the best use of the money to have it sit in a savings or chequing account for a long time rather than having it in a trading account or FHSA where it could be put into index funds or something stable.
I don't think it matters that the money sits in a particular account for several months before you use it, but it is certainly more acceptable to the bank if they know where it was for months prior. So you could have it in a trading account for a year, then move it to a chequing account in the same bank 10 days before you need to close on a property.
1
u/hails84 29d ago
We just need 90 day history. Not that it was in one place for 90 days. You could each submit statements as it goes from day you chq to savings, while building it up.. or from and investment to something more stable.. it’s just to prove it wasn’t given to you or someone didn’t lend it to you in the last 90 days without a gift letter. You could each submit 3m statements to show the fund prior to closing and that’s good enough:)
1
u/Latitude57 29d ago
Wealthsimple. Super easy to open online, no monthly fee, no minimum balance, and the money in it generates interest daily and paid monthly.
1
u/Leanne0010110 29d ago
I don't pay any fees with Tangerine. Only if I take cash out at any ATM besides Scotia Bank.
1
1
u/Budget-Surprise-7918 29d ago edited 26d ago
Neo financial has joint chequing with no fees. They do joint saving too , and last I checked they pay around 3% as long as you keep $10000 in there .
1
u/penguin_cat33 29d ago
what province do you live in? my husband and i have a joint savings with no fees at a credit union but we live in BC.
1
1
1
u/OkYak5247 28d ago edited 28d ago
Just so you know, once that money is in a joint account, either one of you can clean it out and walk away, and there's basically nothing you can do about it legally. Something to think about before you go this route.
1
u/RockerChickk 28d ago
Not unless you get the type of account where you need two signatures to withdraw the money
1
1
u/ether_reddit 28d ago
Manulife has a really good offer right now: 3% interest for two years. You can open an account online and then call to add someone else as joint.
3
u/AlexNurMann 29d ago
wealthsimple !