Mortgage Marathon

Tracy Head • August 26, 2024

Getting across the finish line is sometimes more challenging than getting your initial mortgage approval.


Lenders have different processes for evaluating mortgage applications. With some lenders we need to submit all of your supporting documents upfront; others send out the initial approval with a list of what they want to review.


Process-wise I collect all (or most) of my clients’ documents before I ever submit for an approval. This means we can be flexible when choosing which lender we are going to work with. In some cases when I know it will be a few days before the client is able to provide everything I will work with a lender that sends out their approval then asks for the documents.


There are pros and cons to both lender processes.


For the lenders that need everything upfront, in an ideal situation their approval arrives with very few additional document requests. This feels smoothest for our clients.


Lenders that issue an approval without reviewing all documents are great to work with when we are in a time crunch. If I am pretty confident of the information my clients have provided verbally but am just waiting on certain documents (ie: a T4 or bank statements) I will often use these lenders to make sure we stay on track to meet deadlines like our subject removal for financing.


Sometimes, even after working with clients for months, surprises pop up.


This week felt like a game of Whack-A-Mole dealing with just such surprises on several of my files.

First surprise: my client has a credit score in the high 800s (900 is the highest available) and has been with the same employer for over fifteen years. She is putting down 50 per cent of the cost of her home from savings. A beautiful application all the way around.


Our approval came back requiring confirmation that her cell phone bill has been paid in full. Apparently her Transunion credit report shows she is in arrears with her cell bill.


The back story was that her employer had sent her out to work one of the active fires and she was putting in long exhausting days so it was an oversight.

 

In view of the application I felt this was an absurd ask but the lender would not budge on it. My client was very unhappy being asked to provide this as the mortgage application was with her bank.


Another challenge was after working with clients for almost a year on their preapproval (and having reviewed their credit history ten months ago) they finally had an accepted offer. We pulled their credit history to update their application. There was now an outstanding collection that had not been there before. It was for an old student loan that they assumed had finally gone away.


Even trying to verify basic information can seem daunting. As a prime example, CRA has changed the format of the T4s that clients can pull from their My Account portal. The T4s no longer include the clients’ names. To pull from My Account clients need to do a screen shot that includes their name on the portal. This can be a royal pain for clients to access the information in a format that lenders require.


All this to be said that lately many clients have been frustrated by some of the document requests we are making. From my perspective, if we are asking to borrow hundreds of thousands of dollars I appreciate that lenders are doing their due diligence. Identity fraud and mortgage fraud are out there and in the long run cost us all money.


If you are finding yourself a bit frustrated with the process you are not alone.

There are days where I put on my helmet and flak jacket before reaching out to clients for yet another document. This week there were five days. 


Then there are the days when a particularly challenging mortgage finalizes and my clients now have keys to their dream home. Today is just such a day, and days like this remind me that persistence is worth it in the long run.

Tracy Head

Mortgage Broker

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By Tracy Head May 19, 2025
I know this is a dumb question but ….  I should probably know this already …. I’m sorry to ask so many questions but …. So many times clients start out with one of these statements. They feel like they should have a better understanding of the mortgage process or terminology. The truth is that buying a home is not a simple journey. Applying for a mortgage is not a cake walk. And even if you’ve been through the process in the past the goal posts seem to move faster than you can keep up. One of the reasons I love (most days) my work is that I am able to spend as much time as I need with my clients helping them understand their financing. When I worked for one of the chartered banks in a previous life I was so tightly scheduled that when our time was up that was it. Someone else had an appointment that I needed to be on time for. Clients have different learning and communication styles. Some come well-versed and understand the mortgage process; others have not done any research and need a lot of hand-holding. My goal is to make sure that by the time they are signing their legal paperwork in front of their lawyer my clients understand the decisions they have made and the rationale behind them. Whether it is the first time you are buying a home or you are looking to refinance your current mortgage it is important that you find a professional to work with that is patient and non-judgmental. In a beautiful world you connect with someone that has bought and sold a few of their own homes and has been working in the mortgage world for a while. It can feel very intimidating to bare your soul to a complete stranger. We often don’t share details of our finances with anyone except our banker / spouse and in some cases I find clients may feel embarrassed about the state of their finances. We see via social media others living lavish lifestyles and somehow feel we should be doing the same. The bottom line is that whether this is your first plunge into the homeownership pool or you are a veteran in the market, it is so important to connect with someone that takes the time to understand your situation and your goals. Knowing your long-term plan and how you handle your finances can help your mortgage professional set you up for success. Please please please make sure you ask all of the questions, even if you think you should know that answers. Guessing that you understand something or bluffing without listening to your mortgage professional’s advice can cause unnecessary grief down the road.
By Tracy Head May 5, 2025
When I work with clients that say they are writing an offer on a private sale I always talk about the benefits of working with a realtor. Realtors do so much legwork that happens behind the scenes that clients aren’t even aware of. Most times it is challenging on my end when clients try to tackle the process of writing an offer on a private sale themselves. I joke and say I am going to charge them an extra fee because of the additional work it creates on our end. I don’t actually charge a fee to be clear but I am only half kidding. When you start down the road of buying a home there are many new and unfamiliar terms you may hear. Whether you are working with a realtor or not, arguably some of the most important things you need to learn about are the “subject to” conditions to include in your offer to purchase. When you write an offer to purchase a home, your realtor will offer guidance as to the conditions you include. Common conditions you will see are:  Subject to arranging suitable financing  Subject to a satisfactory home inspection  Subject to arranging home insurance  Subject to review of strata documents  Subject to the sale of your current home If you are purchasing a rural property or are in a unique situation you may also see:  Subject to a water potability test  Subject to an inspection of the septic system  Subject to the seller finding a suitable home to purchase These lists are not all-encompassing by any means. The purpose of adding conditions to your offer is to protect you in case there are any issues with the home you are looking to purchase. In previous columns I’ve written about the potential dangers of writing a subject-free offer. The high- level, quick position is that if you write a subject-free offer you’d better have cash on hand to buy the home. I have worked with several clients over the last few months that have written private offers. We do absolutely everything ahead of time to try to ensure they will be successful with their financing. These files stress clients more than you can imagine. They have to either find templates to fill out or pay a lawyer or notary to prepare the documents for them. Either way they need to quickly learn about the conditions I listed above and understand key dates involved in the buying process. The clients need to deal directly with the sellers on any issues that may arise. When you are working with a realtor they handle these issues on your behalf. A knowledgeable realtor also helps avoid issues by taking any of the personal contact and emotions out of any potential areas of conflict. Make sure you do your due diligence and have your ducks in a row as you move forward with an offer to purchase whether writing an offer with a realtor or on your own. Now that the sun has come out and the election is over I’ve seen my clients more actively shopping which is encouraging. As always, my advice is to work with a realtor that you are comfortable with and who knows your area well.