Mortgage Puzzles

Tracy Head • April 8, 2024

I’ve written about mortgage documentation in several columns over the years. This week I had an interesting call with several of my colleagues about trends we are seeing in the mortgage world around paperwork right now.



There are people who think that mortgage brokers are able to cut corners and have an easier time getting a mortgage approved. Ironically, I believe we are held to a higher standard which sometimes translates to frustration for clients as we are doing our due diligence with document collection.


When starting with new clients part of my conversation includes an overview of the documents we will need as well as an explanation of why. This conversation also includes a bit of an apology because I know how challenging this process can sometimes be.


“My bank has never asked for that” is something I hear often. What clients don’t consider is that their bank has a full historical view of their day to day banking as opposed to new lenders who are just being introduced to these clients.


If you were asked to lend someone half a million dollars would you do it on a handshake?


Would you assume they will repay you in a timely manner (as agreed) because they seem like good people?


Likely no to both questions.


That’s one part of the puzzle.


The other piece to the puzzle is the increasing trend of fraud in the mortgage world.


From my perspective, my reputation and livelihood are too important to entertain clients that I suspect are not quite as they appear. I explain I am very particular about gathering documents upfront to make sure we are not going to run into any unexpected or unpleasant surprises.


From time to time we come across documents that are glaringly obvious attempts at fraud. With today’s technology fictitious documents are becoming easier to create and harder to detect.

As brokers we represent both our clients and the lenders we are placing their mortgage with. I discovered fraudulent documents on one of my files recently and cancelled the application and notified the lender. 

My (ex) client was very very angry. He didn’t see what the big deal was. He went to a local branch and his mortgage was approved.

Where is the harm?


If part of the fraud includes income documents, will this client actually be able to make his mortgage payments down the road? Because he did have a substantial down payment relative to his income, does he have a sideline that isn’t declared or legal?

I absolutely agree that collecting the required documents for your mortgage can seem frustrating, and you may question why your mortgage person is asking for the weird and wonderful collection of paperwork they are asking for. Or you may question why they are asking for more and more paperwork.


Please understand that these requests are coming from the lender and we are doing our best as the middleman to help ease the process for you. Lenders want to be confident that they are making solid decisions with their approvals and are doing their best to prevent mortgage fraud.

Tracy Head

Mortgage Broker

GET STARTED

Changes Affecting Financing

By Tracy Head • November 14, 2025
I consider myself a lifelong learner, which is part of the reason I love my work. Every day there is something new and exciting to learn, or in some cases re-learn. When I first came back to the mortgage world a more seasoned broker gave me a copy of a handout she used with clients. It talked about the ten most important things NOT to do between removing your financing subject and finalizing the purchase of your home. At the time I remember thinking that the handout sounded patronizing and I assumed clients just understood they shouldn’t do any of the ten things. You know what they say about assuming things. Once or twice my clients have made decisions that have almost jeopardized their financing. The reason this came up for me right now is that I am working my way through a training course which is geared towards helping me re-design my team and my workflow, with the ultimate goal of providing even better support to my clients. One of the changes I am going to implement is adding a list very similar to the original ten things not to do list to my signing packages so that we are all on the same page and avoid any potential challenges down the road. What are the ten things? I won’t go over all of them, but here are a few of the things that have surfaced recently: If you change the closing date on your purchase or if you receive the Notice of Completion on a newly built home, advise your mortgage person right away. Never assume your realtor will do this for you. Do not go out and finance anything without checking with your mortgage person. If you are pushing the upper limit of your buying power even a small loan for furniture might put your financing at risk. Many lenders pull your credit again shortly before your mortgage finalizes. Along the same lines, make sure all of your payments are made on time. Do not co-sign a loan for anyone. Do not quit your job or change employers without talking to your mortgage person ahead of time. Do not spend any of the money you have tucked away for your down payment. If you have money sitting in higher-risk investment better to move them to something more stable in case of market fluctuations. Most people think that once they get the ok to remove their financing subject that their mortgage is a done deal. The small print on every mortgage commitment includes a clause that says something along the lines of “Your financing is based on your current situation. Material changes to your situation prior to the funding of your mortgage may affect your approval.” I’m currently working with a young lady that decided to purchase a boat between the time we had our pre-approval conversation and the day she wrote her offer to purchase. She had decided not to buy a home then found her dream property. We’ve had to look at a few options as the boat payment threw her ratios out of line. She is fortunate that her parents are very supportive and are going to gift her the money to pay off the boat loan, but if she didn’t have that back up plan the new loan would have reduced her borrowing power by over $100,000. The reason I added the comment “without checking with your mortgage person” in the bullets above is that every client’s situation is unique and some of those changes might be just fine. Some might not, and the last thing you want to do is find yourself scrambling to figure out a Plan B shortly before closing.  Best to have the conversation and be certain.

Mortgage Options

By Tracy Head • November 1, 2025
In past columns I’ve covered when no means no and when no means maybe there’s another option. There are many aspects of my work that I love. One is that I learn something new each and every day. No two clients are the same and no two applications are the same. Some are easier than others to put together. Another thing I love is that we have so many options to consider when working on our files. I do find immense satisfaction when I tackle a complicated file and find a great solution for my clients. I am working with an amazing young couple as they build their portfolio of rental properties. They are relatively young but both work incredibly hard and really have their ducks in a row. The plot twist they have is that they both transitioned from salaried positions to being self-employed over the last year. Their credit scores are both in the high 800s (900 is a perfect score), they are both making substantial income, and they have saved over $100,000 for their down payment.  Seems like a slam dunk right? Because they don’t have two years of filed tax returns as self-employed business people our options are a bit limited. There is a program we use in this situation but their scenario does not fit within the guidelines. Their dream home just came on the market so they are wanting to buy and convert their current home to a rental property. This particular home came up in the neighborhood they really want to be in, and homes don’t come up very often. It is immaculate and has a legal suite. They had originally approached their bank and been told it was a hard no. I work with their realtor fairly often and she suggested they give me a call. Within 24 hours we had the approval in place for them. We ended up taking the application to an alternative lender for a two-year term. The interest rate is about .5 per cent higher than a chartered back and there is a 1 per cent fee charged. We weighed out the pros and cons of going this route versus holding off until their next tax returns are filed before purchasing another property. After chatting with their financial advisor and accountant they felt it was worth the slightly higher interest rate to be able to buy the home now. I will say I love straightforward simple applications but in reality those are few and far between. Most of the applications I work on these days seem to have some sort of plot twist like this one so I am very grateful there are so many options available to help clients who may fall a little outside of the standard lending guidelines.