Procrastination

Tracy Head • April 19, 2024

This morning I was up with the birds (literally) and really wanted to sleep a bit longer. I decided to listen to a podcast rather than get up. The podcast, ironically, was about procrastination.



Her general message was that procrastinating often makes us feel bad. There are things we want to accomplish or feel we should do but we choose the immediate gratification / dopamine hit of time in front of the TV or mindless scrolling (or more time in bed) rather than the satisfaction that comes with achieving our larger goals and dreams. 

She talked about procrastinating with both our actions and making decisions.


The irony that I was listening to the podcast rather than getting up and tackling my day was not lost on me. There were a few comments the podcaster made that struck home. 


Making a decision, any decision, is better than no decision. 


Human nature (for many of us) is that when facing a tough decision we freeze. We over-analyze the “what-ifs” and potential outcomes. We worry about what others may think of our choices. We may not even know what our options are. 

While procrastinating opportunities are lost or we dig ourselves in a bit deeper.


The last year in particular has been challenging with higher interest rates and a steadily increasing cost of living. Many families are struggling to cover their bills and put food on the table. 


I’ve written columns before about how if you have equity in your home it might be wise to consider a consolidation of your consumer debt to free up cash flow. Making lifestyle changes can be easier said than done.


I believe that staying the course and getting your mortgage paid off as soon as possible is always the best plan, but there comes a time when you also need to look at how your finances are affecting your physical and mental health.


When we get behind with our bills or are teetering on the edge of not being able to cover everything this month we are also concerned about what people might think. We are worried about a call from our creditors asking for a payment. We project a certain lifestyle and feel the pressure to maintain this even though we can’t actually afford it right now.


We lose sleep at night thinking about the “what-ifs”.


If you are in this situation and have equity in your home, I encourage you to take action to explore your options sooner rather than later. 


I have worked with clients who have never missed a payment ever but their credit scores were in the 500 range (not good) because they are over-extended and maxed out on multiple loans, credit cards and / or credit lines. 


Had they reached out sooner we would have had more options to help them with a fresh start. This doesn’t mean we can’t find options, but there are certainly more available when credit scores are higher. 


As a rule I don’t get into the discussion of why you would work with a mortgage broker versus a bank but this is one of those times. I do place many of my clients with chartered banks when that is the right fit.


When you approach your bank your situation might not be a fit for their lending guidelines. They may tell you they are not able to help you and that you will have to sell your home or look at a consumer proposal or bankruptcy.

Selling your home may be the right answer, but before you jump to that place take a look at other options. Pick up the phone. Don’t procrastinate.


If you are working with a mortgage broker they are able to explore multiple lenders and programs to help you try to find a solution to put you on the right track sooner rather than later. 

Tracy Head

Mortgage Broker

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Is this the right time to buy a home?

By Tracy Head • October 4, 2025
Is this the right time to buy a home? Who has your best interests at heart? Buying a home can be either an incredibly exciting experience or a very stressful time. Or it can be a combination of both. Part of the challenge can be committing to the decision to move forward with buying a home. How do you know if you are ready? How do you know if this is the right time to buy? I love working with first-time home buyers. I particularly love when they reach out well ahead of time to do their research and get their ducks in a row. I have been working with one such young lady. She has been watching for the right home to pop up. She fell in love with one of the listings that she viewed and moved forward with an offer. She reached out to her investment advisor to make arrangements to move the funds she needed for her deposit from her investments to her bank account. Oddly he did not reply to her three phone calls nor multiple emails. She was forced to walk into his office to deal with this. When she got there he essentially told her she was foolish for buying a home. She should leave her funds in her investments and continue to save with him. She agonized for a few days and ultimately collapsed her offer. He told her that this house, over the long run, was going to cost her $1,000,000. The purchase price was $650,000. The total of the purchase price plus interest over the long run seemed like an astronomical sum. He persuaded her that she would be better off continuing to rent and that at the end of the same time period she would have over $1,000,000 in her investment account. That’s all well and good in theory. In the meantime she still needs a place to live. And there are no guarantees as to what investments will do over time, nor what property values will do. I did some math to see what this actually looked like long term. We have to make some assumptions that the financial advisor is good at what he does and that her investments will do well over the long term. As a rule real estate appreciates over time and rent increases over time. That being said, here is the math I did. Making some assumptions that the mortgage rate stays the same and your rent never increases: $2400 rent per month x 360 months (30 years) = $864,000 $2833 per month mortgage payment x 360 months = 1,019,880 (monthly payments / I suggest you go bi-weekly to pay off quicker) At the end of 30 years renting you have nothing to show for the $864,000 you’ve paid out. At the end of 30 years paying your mortgage you will have a home free and clear – normally real estate increases in value over time so in theory it will be worth way more than what you’ve paid. If you wait another year to buy $2400 x 12 = $28,800 towards someone else’s mortgage. Here’s the wild card. If you choose to rent and choose to invest in a portfolio instead of buying, even if your portfolio is worth $1,000,000 at the end of the same time frame you need to subtract the $864,000 you paid in rent. This leaves you with a net gain of $136,000. If you had purchased a home, your payments of $1,019,880 would be offset by the value of the home you purchased. In this case, assuming no change in value, you now have a home worth $650,000 paid off. The wild card to run these comparisons is how much you need to invest monthly to accumulate the $1,000,000. Either way, you are making this payment on top of your rent payment. Another wild card of course is what property values and investment portfolios do over time. We know rent will continue to increase and mortgage rates will change but I think it warrants looking at this from another perspective. I am not a proponent of aggressive scare tactics so was disappointed in how this advisor handled his conversation with her.  Some people are more cautious with their financial plans and I appreciate that. Being certain about your long-term goals will help you navigate the path forward that suits your own situation. Make sure you have trusted people in your corner as you make these big life decisions.

Reverse Mortgage Solutions

By Tracy Head • September 22, 2025
For every problem there’s a solution. Sometimes more than one. It seems like there is an ebb and flow in the types of mortgage products clients choose. Over the last few years I have definitely been fielding more inquiries about reverse mortgages. Although they are becoming more widely accepted, reverse mortgages had a lot of bad publicity. The negative press I’ve seen relates to the American housing market where predatory lenders were taking advantage of vulnerable seniors. Reverse mortgages in Canada are highly regulated so that this does not happen. For some clients it takes a while for them to wrap their heads around reverse mortgages as an (or the best) option for them. Particularly in the Okanagan we see many clients who are house-rich but cash poor. Or at least have limited income to cover their day-to-day living expenses. Sometimes even when the clients recognize that a reverse mortgage is the right plan for them their families or children have objections. When I am working with clients and we are looking at a reverse mortgage as an option I always invite them to include their families / children to our conversations. Often clients are too embarrassed to share with their children exactly how dire their finances are. Sometimes clients can’t get past the stigma of refinancing via a reverse mortgage because all their lives they have worked hard to make sure their mortgage is paid off. Cliché as it sounds, times have changed. The cost of living has risen far quicker than increases to pension income. A friend of mine shared a conversation he had with reverse mortgage clients and their children. The children were vocally opposed to their parents moving forward with a reverse mortgage. Paraphrasing a bit but it went like this: “The way I see it” he said “after completing a thorough review of your parents’ finances, we have three options. Downsizing isn’t an option as they are already in a condo. Number one, they carry on with the current mortgage that they can’t afford. Their expenses come to about $2,000 per month so you can each transfer them $1,000 per month to help cover their payments. Number two, your parents can sell and move in with one or the other of you. Third, we take a closer look at a reverse mortgage to see if that helps them stay in their home without any financial help from you.” Apparently there was a very long pause. After a more thorough conversation about the pros and cons of a reverse mortgage and answering more questions the family did indeed feel a reverse mortgage was the best option for their parents. If you (or your parents) are thinking about a reverse mortgage make sure you take your time and ask all the questions you need to so you are confident moving forward.  I have seen reverse mortgages have a profound impact on quality of life for many of my clients. I did not used to be a huge fan of reverse mortgages but have to say I am using them more often to help clients enjoy their retirement years without losing sleep trying to figure out how to cover their expenses.