Mortgage guides
One question per guide, answered in the first sentence. Written for people in the middle of it.
Last updated 2026-09-30
Basics
Fixed vs. variable mortgage rate — how do you actually choose?
Fixed locks your payment for the term; variable moves with prime. What decides it isn't which is historically cheaper — it's whether you can absorb change.
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?
There's no fixed multiple of income. Lenders work out what you can reliably carry each month, then work back to a loan amount. Here's how that math runs.
Read this →What does the mortgage stress test actually test?
The stress test checks whether you could still pay if rates were meaningfully higher. It doesn't change what you pay; it sets how much you can borrow.
Read this →Buying your first home — how much do you actually need to save?
The down payment isn't one fixed percentage. Two tax-advantaged accounts only first-time buyers can use, plus BC's transfer tax break, set what you need.
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
Under 20% down: how the mortgage insurance premium is calculated, how the 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 your mortgage matures, some 90. The hold is usually free and doesn't commit you to that lender.
Read this →Why is the renewal letter your bank mails you usually not their best offer?
Your bank's renewal letter is priced on the assumption you won't shop it — a default option, not a competitive bid. What to check before you sign.
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?
In Canada, a cash-out refinance is generally capped at 80% of your home's value, minus what you owe. How that's worked out, and where it gets 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 — each is usually fine alone. When a few line up together, the standard bank process gets stuck.
Read this →Self-employed, newcomer, and down payment from overseas — where three factors stacked together actually get stuck
Under two years self-employed, no local credit yet, down payment from savings back home — each has a standard process alone. Together, it's 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 one is approved on income and the stress test, the other on age and the property — and only one has monthly payments.
Read this →Reverse mortgage or a HELOC — how do you choose?
Both unlock home equity without selling. What differs: whether you owe a payment at all, how much you can access and how you draw it — more than the rate.
Read this →What do people actually use reverse mortgage money for — and should you take it as a lump sum or in stages?
After deciding on a reverse mortgage: take the money as a lump sum or in stages — and how much that choice actually changes 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
If you go ahead with a reverse mortgage: what the process looks like step by step, how long it takes, and what independent legal advice actually involves.
Read this →Reverse mortgages: which properties and situations don't qualify
Does your home qualify for a reverse mortgage? 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
If you pass away with a reverse mortgage: does your family have to repay it, 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 common credit setbacks each run on their own clock: when alternative lenders will look at you, when prime lenders will, and how much down you need.
Read this →Your credit isn't bad. It's just not great. How does "in-between" actually get read?
No bankruptcy, nothing dramatic — the score just isn't polished, or the history is short. The most common in-between case, and what lenders really look 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 the property, not your income or credit, that gets a mortgage declined. Which buildings trigger it, and whether switching lenders fixes it.
Read this →Why Would a Mortgage Get Denied With Good Credit and Income?
Good income and clean credit don't guarantee approval. It usually comes down to your debt ratio, the property or how income is counted — and which 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 the right time is another. When buying your business space beats renting it.
Read this →Buying a branded hotel or motel — how big can the PIP renovation list get, and how does it fit into financing
The property improvement plan is the cost first-time hotel buyers miss most: what's on it, whether lenders count it, and how to build it into your offer.
Read this →Does business debt or a personal guarantee make it harder to buy a home later — and what order actually works better
How a personal guarantee or new business debt shows up on your mortgage application — and how to sequence buying a home against growing your business.
Read this →