The Home Buyers' Plan and the FHSA both use a similar first-time buyer test: you or your spouse cannot have owned and lived in a home as your principal residence in the current year or the preceding four years. Meeting that test opens up the $60,000 RRSP withdrawal and the FHSA's yearly contribution room of up to $8,000.
The mortgage side is a separate qualification entirely, run by the lender against Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's insured-mortgage rules rather than by any program administrator. Income, existing debt, credit score and the minimum down payment of 5 percent to $500,000 then 10 percent above all get checked before a program dollar even matters.
Joel Dyck can point a buyer to a mortgage broker who will confirm both tests against actual numbers before an offer goes in, rather than guessing from a general list. Get your hand-reviewed valuation from Joel Dyck.