This is the stage where the property enters the picture and the clock starts. Your pre-approval assessed you. Nothing yet has assessed the house you are about to commit to, which is what the financing condition is for.
Pekoe Mortgages is licensed in Ontario (FSRA #13321) and Alberta (RECA). This stage page routes you to the answer. It does not replace it.
How much property risk you personally carry. An offer with a financing condition leaves that risk with the lender’s assessment. An offer without one moves it onto you, along with your deposit.
This stage is short and the deadlines are real. Decisions made here are the hardest in the journey to undo, because they are contractual rather than administrative.
| Step | Who does it | What it produces |
|---|---|---|
| Decide whether the offer carries a financing condition | You, advised by your broker and your agent | The single biggest risk decision in the journey |
| Set the length of the condition | Your agent drafts it, the seller has to accept it | The working window, commonly 5 to 10 business days |
| Place the deposit | You | The money that is exposed if you cannot close |
| Send the signed agreement to your broker immediately | You | The document the lender needs before anything else moves |
| Satisfy or exit the condition before the deadline | You, on your broker’s advice | A firm deal, or a clean exit with the deposit back |
Silence at the deadline is itself a decision, and what it means depends on the wording of your agreement.
Signing. Deciding how much risk to accept, and meeting the deadline you agreed to.
Drafting the offer and the conditions in it, and delivering notices to the other side.
Telling you whether the window is realistic for your file, and working the lender inside it.
The right person to read the actual clause wording before you sign, and the only one who should advise on what a breach would mean.
| Document | Why it is needed | What delays it |
|---|---|---|
| The signed purchase agreement | The lender cannot assess a property it has not seen the contract for | Waiting until the next business day to send it |
| The MLS listing for the property | Used alongside the agreement in the lender’s assessment | Nothing, your agent has it |
| Proof of the deposit leaving your account | It forms part of your down payment and has to be traceable | Deposits drawn from funds without 90 days of history |
| Condominium documents, where the property is a condo | The lender reviews them before committing | The corporation’s turnaround on a status or estoppel certificate |
Start here. What a financing condition is and why it protects you.
The condition itself. How long it should run, what the clause contains, and whether you can extend it.
Going without one. What you actually lose by waiving and going in without one in a competing-offer market.
By province. Ontario condition of financing and Alberta conditions precedent.
By property type. Condominiums, new builds with a long closing, and rural and acreage property.
If the property itself is the question. Whether a lender will take this property, which is a separate decision from whether it will take you.
Buying an assignment. Financing an assignment purchase, where the lender values the original contract price and you fund the premium in cash.
Buying before selling. Bridge financing in Canada, for when your purchase closes before your sale does.
Deposits. Deposits on an Alberta purchase, builder deposits in Ontario, and in Alberta.
A pre-approval assesses you, not the property. The financing condition is what covers the property failing to support the mortgage, which is a different risk.
Commonly 5 to 10 business days, with 5 the most common. It is whatever the parties agree, not a legal requirement, and a short window is risky if your file needs extra documents.
With a financing condition properly exercised before the deadline, it is generally returned. Without one, it is exposed. The outcome depends on your contract and your province, so ask your lawyer.
Yes. An extension is an amendment and the seller is free to refuse it, which is why the request should go in before the deadline rather than after.
It can be, in a competing-offer situation where the property risk has been settled in advance. It should be a decision taken with your broker and lawyer, not a reflex to win a bid.
The signed agreement and the listing, the same day. Everything in stage 4 waits on those two documents.
Usually, because the lender reviews the condominium documents and the corporation controls how fast those arrive.
Stage 4, underwriting, where the lender verifies your income and assesses the property itself before issuing a commitment.
Pekoe Mortgages is a licensed brokerage in Ontario (FSRA #13321) and Alberta (RECA). This page is general information, not financial advice, and does not create a broker and client relationship.