The changing mortgage world

Tracy Head • September 13, 2022

One night last week, I met with several other brokers after a learning session we attended. The group included brokers from B.C., Alberta and Ontario.


Our evening included a great discussion about the changes we are seeing in our mortgage applications these days.


It is rare for most of us to see a straightforward application where all of the pieces line up. The common theme around the table was how more often than not, our clients are having to consider different ways to qualify for their mortgages.

What do I mean by all of the pieces lining up?


In an ideal world, clients will have squeaky-clean credit with limited consumer debt, have stable employment and have the appropriate down payment saved and ready to go.


For bonus points, they are able to find a home they love in their price range and preferred neighbourhood and negotiate an accepted offer.


More often than not, we are finding that some or most of the pieces don’t line up at first glance.


I am seeing more families buying homes together – several generations contributing to the down payment and coming together so that they have enough income to qualify for the home they want to purchase.


COVID-19 affected many peoples’ finances. Some took advantage of payment deferral options even if they didn’t need to, and that has been questioned by lenders. By virtue of their type of work, many clients went weeks or even months with reduced or no income, which led to bumps in their credit.


With interest rates rising the goal post has been moved a little further away so either more income or a larger down payment is needed to qualify for the same mortgage amount.


Our conversation turned to financial management and savings habits. We talked about different ways to build your savings and the importance of having a safety net set aside for the unexpected things life throws at us.


We then shifted into different options for helping clients qualify for the mortgages they need. What was particularly interesting to me was that regardless of the province or city we are working in, these brokers are all experiencing a sense of frustration with how clients seem to be facing more and more barriers to entering the housing market.


I was grateful for this conversation as it reinforced that, as brokers, we do have many tools and products available to help our clients get into their new homes.


Although interest rates are rising, housing prices are dropping in many markets. Even with higher rates, based on lower purchase prices we are starting to see the scale levelling out a little with monthly payments.


If you have been concerned about affordability with rates on the move it is a great idea to reach out to your mortgage person to see what you qualify for before you head out shopping.

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.