A Fresh Perspective

Tracy Head • February 24, 2025

Part of what we do as mortgage brokers is explore options for clients.



Recently I worked with two families whose financing had been declined by their banks as the numbers didn’t work.

In both cases, the families had already sold their existing homes and written offers to purchase new homes. Both had done well on their sales and had significant equity to work with. They were shocked to learn they didn’t qualify for similar size mortgages.

Sometimes a fresh perspective makes all the difference.


When I reviewed the first application I took a look at what the outstanding debt. Since they bought their previous home they had purchased two vehicles and were carrying about $12,000.00 on an unsecured line of credit. The vehicle payments were $457 and $692 respectively.


For context here, your mortgage borrowing power decreases by about $100,000 for every $475 you have in payments for consumer credit (loans, credit lines, credit cards, etc).


Looking at this family’s situation, I suggested using some of the equity from the sale to pay off their truck loan and line of credit.

This reduced their monthly payments by $1,052 ($360 towards the credit line plus $692 for the truck) and meant that the numbers work for them to move forward with their purchase.


This was a small tweak but made all the difference.


My preference is that people put their equity back into a new purchase as opposed to paying off consumer debt. However, this decision needs to be made carefully by the clients as they are the ones ultimately responsible for paying the bills each month. In some cases this is the only way to qualify for a new mortgage. 


The second family’s application involved a slightly different tweak.


When I calculated the funds they had available for their down payment and closing costs, it looked like they had $100,000 available for their down payment. The purchase price on their new home was $549,000.


We discussed increasing their down payment to $109,800 which is twenty per cent of the purchase price. They spoke to her parents, and the parents agreed to gift them $10,000 to make up the difference.


What this meant for the clients was that we were able to get an approval with a thirty-year amortization. With the increase in amortization and slight reduction in the mortgage amount (additional down payment + no default insurance fee), they qualified for the new mortgage they needed.


Again, my preference is to see clients stick with shorter amortizations whenever possible. 


This family has chosen to have one parent stay at home while the children are young, so the smaller mortgage payments are a good solution for the short term. We talked about options for increasing their payments once the children are in school and the dad is back to work.


Each family and situation is different, and often we are able to look for creative options to help find the right mortgage. Sometimes a second set of eyes is all it takes.

Tracy Head

Mortgage Broker

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By Tracy Head August 27, 2025
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By Tracy Head August 11, 2025
Last week was a vivid reminder of the importance of finalizing your home insurance as soon as you are within thirty days of your closing date on a home purchase. I had three clients with purchases closing on the Friday after the fire broke out in Peachland. All three had to push their closing dates back because they couldn’t get their insurance in place due to an active fire. Thinking about this led me to consider a few of the key steps involved when purchasing a home. I’ve written about this in prior columns but I feel a reminder is never a bad idea. There are a few areas of crossover between the guidance your realtor gives you and the advice you receive from your mortgage person. When your realtor writes your purchase contract there are some standard conditions that are added to the agreement. You will generally see the following: Subject to the purchaser obtaining satisfactory mortgage financing Subject to the purchaser having a home inspection conducted Subject to the purchaser arranging home insurance Subject to review of strata documents if applicable Subject to the sale of the purchasers’ current home if applicable The financing end is obviously our responsibility. I do double-check with my clients that they have taken care of the other conditions. Most realtors are great at offering support to their clients with respect to addressing the relevant conditions. In some cases I feel like realtors tell clients the steps they need to take but my guess is that the whole process can feel or become overwhelming. Before I give my clients the ok to remove their financing subject I confirm that they have taken care of the home insurance as this is one piece they sometimes miss.  If you are going through the process of purchasing a home my suggestion is keep a notebook (aging myself by suggesting a paper version) or a list on your phone to keep track of your must-do tasks as you go through the process. I have a checklist that I’m happy to share if you would like a copy.