Mortgage guides
One question per guide, answered in the first sentence. Written for people in the middle of it.
Last updated 2026-09-01
Basics
Fixed vs. variable mortgage rate — how do you actually choose?
Fixed locks your payment for the whole term. Variable moves with the central bank rate. What decides which fits isn't which is "historically cheaper" — it's whether you can absorb a payment that moves.
Read this →Mortgage broker vs. going straight to the bank — what's actually different?
A bank can only show you that bank's own products. A broker can shop the same file across multiple lenders. That's the real difference — not who's "cheaper."
Read this →Purchase
How much can I actually borrow?
No fixed multiple. Lenders work back from what you can carry monthly.
Read this →What does the mortgage stress test actually test?
Whether you could still pay if rates were higher. Not what you pay.
Read this →Buying your first home — how much do you actually need to save?
The down payment isn't one fixed percentage, there are two tax-advantaged accounts only first-time buyers can use, and BC has a property transfer tax break on top. How these stack determines what you actually need saved.
Read this →Under 20% down: how the mortgage insurance premium is calculated — plus the new 30-year amortization option and $1.5M insured price cap
The previous article covered how to save your down payment and the tax breaks available. This one covers what comes next: how the insurance premium is actually calculated when your down payment is under 20%, how the new 30-year amortization option works, and the $1.5M price cap on insured mortgages.
Read this →Renewal
How early can you lock a rate before renewal?
Most lenders let you lock a rate about 120 days before maturity.
Read this →Why is the renewal letter your bank mails you usually not their best offer?
That letter is priced on the assumption you won't shop it.
Read this →What actually happens when your mortgage comes up for renewal?
A plain walk-through of what renewal actually involves, start to finish.
Read this →Refinance
What refinancing actually means — and how it's different from renewing
A plain explanation of what refinancing involves, how it differs from a renewal, and when it's actually worth considering.
Read this →How much can you actually pull out when you refinance?
A cash-out refinance in Canada is generally capped at 80% of your home's current value, minus what you still owe. Here's exactly how that number gets calculated — and where it can get stuck.
Read this →Rental / investment
Self-employed
How a self-employed borrower proves income
The documents self-employed buyers need, and what to do when net income reads low.
Read this →You write your income down at tax time — can you still buy?
How lenders read reported income, what it caps, and which routes stay open.
Read this →Self-employed and planning to buy — how far ahead should you start?
The tax-versus-mortgage tradeoff self-employed buyers and business owners face, and when to start planning for it.
Read this →Complex cases
It's not your credit. It's not your income. It's that a few things are happening at once.
Self-employed, credit, immigration status, income source — any one of these is usually fine on its own. It's when a few line up together that the standard bank process gets stuck.
Read this →Self-employed, newcomer, and down payment from overseas — where three factors stacked together actually get stuck
Less than two years self-employed, no local credit history yet, down payment coming from savings back home — each one has a standard process on its own. This specific combination is the most common version of a "complex case."
Read this →Professionals
New to Canada
Can you get a mortgage with no Canadian credit history?
What lenders accept in place of a credit score, and how to build one quickly.
Read this →What newcomers need for a down payment and paperwork
Down payment tiers by status, source of funds rules, and the full document list.
Read this →Reverse mortgage
What a reverse mortgage actually is — and how it works
A plain explanation of how a reverse mortgage works, who actually qualifies, and how the loan behaves over time.
Read this →Reverse mortgage or a cash-out refinance — how do you choose?
Both turn home equity into cash, but they're approved on completely different grounds: one comes down to whether your income clears the stress test, the other comes down to your age and the property itself. That difference, plus whether you're making monthly payments, is what mostly decides which one fits you.
Read this →Reverse mortgage or a HELOC — how do you choose?
Both let you turn home equity into cash without selling. The real difference is whether you owe a payment at all, how much you can access, and how you draw it — that matters more than which one has the lower rate.
Read this →What do people actually use reverse mortgage money for — and should you take it as a lump sum or in stages?
The business page covers whether this is right for you; the comparison articles cover HELOC and cash-out refinance. This one covers what comes after the decision: lump sum or staged, and how much that choice actually affects what you end up owing.
Read this →The reverse mortgage application process: from the first call to funds in your account, how long it takes and what to prepare
The business page covers whether this fits you and how it works; two other articles cover HELOC/cash-out comparisons and lump-sum vs. staged payout. This one covers the practical part: if you go ahead, what the process actually looks like, how long it takes, and what independent legal advice really is.
Read this →Reverse mortgages: which properties and situations don't qualify
The business page and other articles cover whether to do this, how it compares, how to draw the money, and what the process looks like — all of that assumes your property and situation actually qualify. This one covers that assumption directly: age, property type, location, and value thresholds, which differ between Canada's two main lenders.
Read this →Reverse mortgages: what happens to the debt — and the house — after you're gone
The other articles cover whether to do this, how it compares to a HELOC or cash-out refinance, how to draw the money, and what makes a property eligible — all from your side of the decision. This one looks at it from the other direction: if you pass away, does your family have to repay the balance, how much time do they get, and can they keep the house.
Read this →Bruised credit
How long after bankruptcy, a consumer proposal, or foreclosure can you get a new mortgage?
Three of the most common credit setbacks each run on a different clock — how soon alternative lenders will look at you, how soon prime lenders will, and how the down payment requirement shifts along the way. This one breaks it down event by event.
Read this →Your credit isn't bad. It's just not great. How does "in-between" actually get read?
No bankruptcy, no foreclosure, nothing dramatic on the report — the score just isn't polished, or the file hasn't been open long enough. This is the most common "in-between" situation, and here's what a lender is actually looking at.
Read this →When the bank says no
Your income and credit are fine — it's the property that's getting your mortgage declined
Sometimes it's not your income or credit that gets a mortgage declined — it's the property itself. Which building types trigger this most often, and whether switching lenders actually fixes it.
Read this →Why Would a Mortgage Get Denied With Good Credit and Income?
Decent income and clean credit don't guarantee approval. Usually it comes down to one of three things — your debt ratio, the property itself, or how your income is calculated. This guide breaks down all three and how to tell which one applies.
Read this →Life changes
Commercial
When should a business switch from leasing its warehouse or office to owning it?
Whether you can qualify is one question. Whether it's actually the right time is another — the business page covers how financing works; this one covers when buying beats renting.
Read this →Buying a branded hotel or motel — how big can the PIP renovation list get, and how does it fit into financing
The hotel/motel financing page flags the PIP as the cost first-time buyers most often miss. This one goes deeper: what's typically on the list, whether lenders count it, and how to get it into the deal before you offer.
Read this →Does business debt or a personal guarantee make it harder to buy a home later — and what order actually works better
The business-loan page covers how to borrow. This one covers what happens after: how a guarantee or new business debt shows up on your personal mortgage application, and how to sequence buying a home against growing a business.
Read this →