Making Good Decisions

Tracy Head • December 13, 2024

Last Minute Mortgages


Do your homework. Be prepared. Make good decisions. Don’t gamble on an outcome.


Maybe most importantly don’t rush.


These are lessons that can be applied to almost every aspect of our lives.



This week I jumped in to help another broker. A client of his had written an offer on a new home priced at $1,000,000. The client’s current home was owned free and clear (no mortgage outstanding) but was worth slightly less than that.

The broker had a mortgage arranged to cover the difference between the purchase price and the anticipated sale proceeds of the current home.


The client removed all of the subjects on his purchase before his current home was sold – basically rolling the dice and assuming it would sell.


I bet you already know where this is going. There is a plot twist though.


As it turns out, the other broker is unexpectedly away dealing with a health emergency.

The client’s original home has not yet sold.


He has to complete the purchase on his new home by the end of next week.


We scrambled this week to line up private financing to cover the shortfall needed to complete the purchase of the new home. 

The broker had urged the client not to remove subjects on the purchase until the other home was sold. I have seen the email. The client decided to move forward regardless.


This client is fortunate that he still qualifies for the new mortgage even with the current home not sold. 

The client will, however, be covering some unanticipated expenses. Between fees for the private loan and additional legal fees the client will be paying over $10,000 at closing on top of the expected closing costs for the purchase. As well, the monthly payment on the private loan is approximately $4500 per month so we are all hoping an offer comes in soon.


The thing about houses is that they make them every day. Maybe not everyday but certainly new homes come onto the market all the time. Its hard if you are emotionally attached to the idea of a shiny new home, but I lean to the conservative side and encourage my clients to look at the long term outcome should all the pieces not fall into place.


As we move into (what we expect to be) a busy spring market, I encourage you to make thoughtful decisions and not put your financial well-being at risk by jumping into something you shouldn’t.

Tracy Head

Mortgage Broker

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Challenges

By Tracy Head • November 29, 2025
The topics I’ve written about over the years are almost always a reflection of a common theme I’ve seen or challenge I’ve dealt with since the last column I wrote. This one is no different.  The last few months, and particularly the last few weeks, have been among the most challenging in my mortgage career. I say challenging but that might also mean stressful. When working with clients and finding the right fit for their mortgage I look at many different factors. Rate is obviously one of the most important considerations. I also try to get a solid understanding of my clients’ short and longer term goals. For instance if the clients are looking to upsize from a home in the city to a rural property with acreage I will look at chartered banks or credit unions instead of a monoline lender. If the clients are purchasing a lease-hold property there are only a few lenders that will provide financing so that narrows the field. If the clients want direct access to manage their mortgage themselves I will place them with one of my favorite lenders that has an amazing client portal. Sometimes despite the client and the broker doing everything possible to ensure a smooth mortgage process things go sideways. Due to incredibly high volumes over the last few months I’ve seen refinance at renewal mortgages delayed by days or weeks. The stress for everyone involved is overwhelming. The most valuable lesson I’ve learned as a mortgage broker came from a wise more-seasoned broker about ten years ago. She said to me “when things are going sideways on a file, don’t get caught up thinking about what’s going wrong – think about what you need to do to fix it.” I have been hearing these words on repeat the last two weeks, and I think this is helping to keep me (and my clients) on track. If things do appear to be going sideways for you, I encourage you to connect with your mortgage person for regular updates.

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.