North Saanich Mortgage Broker

Can a North Saanich mortgage be handled remotely?

Yes. A mortgage broker licence in BC is provincial (mine is #MB609900), not city by city.

The process was never built around meeting in person — the application is online, documents go by email or a secure upload link, and most paperwork can be e-signed remotely. The few documents that need a witness get signed with a local lawyer or notary near you, no trip required.

Plenty of clients finish the whole process without meeting in person. North Saanich works the same way.

North Saanich, specifically

North Saanich covers 40.15 km² at the north end of the Saanich Peninsula, approximately 25 km north of Victoria, and counted 12,235 residents in the 2021 Census, up 8.8% from 2016. Its Official Community Plan describes coastal-focused neighbourhoods (Ardmore, Deep Cove, Curteis Point, Cloake Hill/Green Park, Dean Park and the Southeast Quadrant) surrounding an agriculturally rich interior. Victoria International Airport (federal) and the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal (provincial) are both in the District, and the Mayor's June 2024 letter to the Minister notes that close to 30% of the land is federal or provincial Crown land. Neighbouring Sidney and Central Saanich generally serve as its commercial centres.

My mortgage and real estate licences both cover all of BC, so for a home in North Saanich you can come to me for the mortgage and for buying or selling. Mortgage documents go digital, and most signing happens remotely.

North Saanich specifics: entirely outside the growth boundary, only half on sewer, and accessory homes on farm and rural land

North Saanich lies entirely outside the regional Urban Containment Policy Area, so the provincial small-scale multi-unit housing rules, three to six units on lots zoned for houses, were not a requirement here. The District says its zoning bylaw already broadly permits secondary suites within single-family dwellings. The new Official Community Plan, Bylaw No. 1587, 2025, adopted July 14, 2025, proposes growth in the area around McTavish and the Southeast Quadrant.

Sewage and fire flows deserve a close look. The Plan notes that much of the municipality is on septic service, with sewer only in the North Saanich Servicing Area; the Mayor's letter adds that only roughly half of residential properties are connected, and that the water distribution system is currently undersized to provide adequate fire flows. Small lots, larger than 299 m² but under 1,400 m², are permitted only within the servicing area.

Thirty-seven percent of the District's land is in the Agricultural Land Reserve, where parcels are permitted a secondary suite within the principal residence plus one additional residence of up to 90 m² (parcels of 40 ha or less) or 186 m² (larger parcels). Rural land allows one secondary suite or detached accessory dwelling, with no subdivision below 4.0 hectares; Neighbourhood Residential land allows a secondary suite plus a cottage or carriage house on lots of 2,833 m² (about 0.7 acres) or more, or a carriage house on smaller lots.

The Province's July 2024 target order asks for 419 net new homes by 2029; the Year 1 goal was 60, and 12 new homes were completed. The District does not currently levy development cost charges, though it says work is underway to assess them. Rural as it is, North Saanich still falls under the speculation and vacancy tax, with a yearly owner declaration, and foreign buyers of residential property pay the additional transfer tax.

Common questions