Ask a broker. Start with your situation.
One general article rarely answers the actual question sitting in front of you. Pick the situation closest to yours below and get a short, ordered path through the pages that apply to it, not a library to search on your own. If nothing fits, a licensed broker is one click away on chat.
Chat connects you to the Pekoe team during business hours. Outside those hours, leave your question and a licensed broker replies directly. No AI persona pretending to be an advisor.
What is your situation?
Choose the situation closest to yours and you get a short, ordered list of pages instead of a full library to dig through. Each path ends at the same place, a decision point where a licensed broker can look at your actual file. Nothing below is financial advice, it is a map to the right answer.
Ten common situations cover most of what Ontario and Alberta borrowers ask about. Click one to see the order most people in that situation need to read, and where to talk to a broker once you get there.
Your path: first-time buyer
Work through these in order, starting with the two numbers that decide almost everything else.
- First Time Home Buyers
Start here for the ground rules before you shop for a home.
- What Credit Score Do You Need for a Mortgage?
Know the number lenders check before you fall for a listing.
- What Is the Mortgage Stress Test?
This is why you qualify for less than the rate suggests.
- How Much Mortgage Can I Afford?
Turn your income and debts into a real purchase price range.
- All nine mortgage calculatorsIndex
Run your own numbers before you talk to anyone.
- Today’s rates and pre-approvalTool
Compare live rates and get a pre-approval certificate in about a minute.
- What Documents Do I Need for a Mortgage?
Gather this now so your approval does not stall later.
- How Long Does a Mortgage Pre-Approval Last?
Know your clock once you are pre-approved and shopping.
- Mortgage Affordability CalculatorCalculator
See the maximum purchase price the GDS and TDS stress test math actually allows.
- Closing Cost CalculatorCalculator
Land transfer tax, legal fees and the cash you need on closing day.
- Co-signer and Gifted Down Payment CalculatorCalculator
What a gift or a co-signer actually changes about your qualifying.
Your path: renewing
Start with what happens if you do nothing, then work toward the decision point.
- Mortgage Renewal
The starting point for anyone whose term is coming due.
- What Happens If You Do Nothing at Your Mortgage Renewal?
Know the default outcome before you decide to act.
- How to Negotiate Your Mortgage Renewal Rate
Learn what actually moves your lender’s renewal offer.
- Does a Collateral Charge Mortgage Cost More to Leave?
Check this before assuming switching lenders is simple.
- Can You Renew Your Mortgage if Your Credit or Income Got Worse?
Read this if your situation changed since you last qualified.
- Your Bank Refused to Renew Your Mortgage. What Now?
The decision point if your own bank says no.
- Renewal Payment Shock CalculatorCalculator
See what the new rate does to your payment before you sign the offer.
- Extra Payment Savings CalculatorCalculator
What paying a little more each period takes off your interest and your timeline.
Your path: refinancing
Confirm the cost of leaving your current mortgage before you plan the new one.
- Should I Refinance to Consolidate Debt?
Confirm refinancing actually solves the problem you have.
- How Mortgage Penalty Calculations Work at Renewal in Canada
Know what breaking your mortgage early could cost first.
- Why Is Your Payout Statement Higher Than Your Balance?
Understand the number your current lender will actually demand.
- Does a Collateral Charge Mortgage Cost More to Leave?
Check this before assuming you can move your mortgage freely.
- Financing a Property With a Certificate of Pending Litigation
Check this if a legal claim is registered against your title.
- What Does CMHC Mortgage Insurance Cost?
Relevant if your refinance changes your loan-to-value position.
- Today’s rates and pre-approvalTool
See what rate you would actually be offered before you break anything.
- All nine mortgage calculatorsIndex
Estimate your new payment before you commit to a number.
- Prepayment Penalty CalculatorCalculator
Estimate the payout penalty before you break the term.
- Mortgage Payment CalculatorCalculator
Compare the payment on the new amount against what you pay now.
Your path: self-employed
Lenders read self-employed income differently than a pay stub. Start there.
- Self-Employed in Canada? Learn How to Secure a Low-Doc Mortgage and Achieve Your Homeownership Goals
Start with how lenders actually view self-employed income.
- Can You Get a Mortgage in Your First Year of Self-Employment?
Read this if you have not filed two years of returns yet.
- Salary or Dividends: Which Helps You Qualify for a Bigger Mortgage?
This decision, made months ago, affects what you qualify for now.
- How to Get a Mortgage When You’re Self-Employed and Write Off Most of Your Income
The write-offs that helped your tax bill can hurt your approval.
- What Documents Do I Need for a Mortgage?
See exactly what a lender asks a self-employed borrower for.
- Can You Get a Private Mortgage When You’re Self-Employed?
The fallback if your file does not fit a bank’s standard box.
- Borrowing Privately Through a Corporation or Holding Company
Read this if you operate through a corporation rather than personally.
- Mortgage Affordability CalculatorCalculator
Run your qualifying income through the same ratios a lender applies.
Your path: bad credit or bankruptcy
Know where you actually stand before you assume the door is closed.
- What Credit Score Do You Need for a Mortgage?
Know exactly where your score sits against the lending tiers.
- How to Raise Your Credit Score Before a Mortgage
Practical steps if you have time before you need to apply.
- Can I Get a Mortgage With Bad Credit?
The direct answer for scores below the standard bank threshold.
- Ask a Broker: How Long After Bankruptcy or a Consumer Proposal Can You Get a Mortgage?
Read this if a discharge or proposal is part of your file.
- Turned Down by a B Lender. Can You Still Go Private?
The decision point once a second lender has already said no.
- Can You Get a Private Mortgage on Disability or a Fixed Income?
Read this if disability or fixed income is the main hurdle now.
- What Documents Do You Need for a Private Mortgage?
See what a private lender needs instead of a bank’s usual list.
- What to Fix During a Private Term to Qualify for a Bank
Use this to plan your way back to a standard mortgage.
- Mortgage Payment CalculatorCalculator
See the payment at the rate you are realistically offered today.
Your path: newcomer
No Canadian credit history yet does not mean no options.
- Can You Get a Mortgage in Canada as a Permanent Resident with Foreign Income?
Start here if your income comes from outside Canada.
- What Credit Score Do You Need for a Mortgage?
See the score a Canadian file needs, even with none built yet.
- Private Mortgages for Newcomers With No Canadian Credit
The route available before you have a Canadian credit history.
- Can a Non-Resident Get a Private Mortgage in Canada?
Not living in Canada yet, rather than newly arrived? This path fits you instead.
- Borrowing From a Family Member: How to Document It
Do this properly if family abroad is helping with your down payment.
- What Documents Do I Need for a Mortgage?
Prepare the paperwork a lender asks a newcomer for.
- Mortgage Affordability CalculatorCalculator
Turn your Canadian income and debts into a real purchase price.
- Closing Cost CalculatorCalculator
Budget the cash you need beyond the down payment.
Your path: separating or divorce
Sort out the mortgage mechanics first, then requalify on your own numbers.
- Ask a Broker: Spousal Buyout Mortgage vs Refinance, What’s the Real Difference?
Understand your two basic options before you talk to a lawyer.
- How to Remove an Ex From Your Mortgage After Separation
The mechanics of taking a name off an existing mortgage.
- Can You Borrow Privately When You Are Separated and Still on Title?
See this option if a standard lender will not work with your file yet.
- How Much Mortgage Can I Afford?
Requalify on your income alone before you sign anything final.
- What Credit Score Do You Need for a Mortgage?
Check where a joint account history leaves your own score.
- What Documents Do I Need for a Mortgage?
Know what a lender needs to qualify you as a single applicant.
- Spousal Buyout CalculatorCalculator
Work out the equity split and the mortgage needed to buy the other party out.
Your path: investor or rental
The down payment rules and the tax angle differ from a home you live in.
- Down Payment for a Rental Property
Start here, the minimum down payment differs from a primary home.
- Financing a Purchase at a Tax Sale or Power of Sale
Financing works differently when you are buying at a discounted sale.
- Second Home and Vacation Property Mortgages
Read this if the property is not a straight rental.
- Does Breaking Your Mortgage to Buy a Rental Make the Interest Tax-Deductible?
Understand the tax angle before you break an existing mortgage.
- Co-Ownership Mortgage Canada: What Lenders Won’t Tell You
Relevant if you are buying the property with a partner.
- Can a Private Lender Take Two Properties as Security?
An option once you are financing more than one property at once.
- Can You Lend or Borrow Through an RRSP Mortgage?
An alternative way to fund or hold a mortgage using registered savings.
- What Is a Syndicated Mortgage, and Should You Be Careful?
Understand this higher-risk structure before you invest or borrow through one.
- Rental Income and Debt Service CalculatorCalculator
See how much of the rent a lender counts and whether the ratios pass.
Your path: private lending
Start with why the option exists, then get to comparing real offers.
- Why Did Your Bank Never Mention Private Lending?
Understand why this option rarely comes up at a branch.
- Warning Signs of a Predatory Private Mortgage
Know the red flags to watch for before you go any further.
- Why Are Private Mortgage Rates So High?
Know what you are actually paying for before you commit.
- What Documents Do You Need for a Private Mortgage?
See how much lighter the paperwork is than a bank file.
- How Do You Compare Two Private Mortgage Offers?
Use this before you sign whichever offer arrives first.
- Is a Commitment or Standby Fee Refundable if the Deal Dies?
Know this before you pay a fee to hold your rate.
- Do You Have to Get Independent Legal Advice for a Private Mortgage?
Expect this step before a lender lets you sign.
- Is There a Penalty for Paying Out a Private Mortgage Early?
Check this if you plan to exit before the term ends.
- What Happens if Your Private Lender Dies or Sells Your Mortgage?
Know what changes for you if this happens mid-term.
- What to Fix During a Private Term to Qualify for a Bank
Turn this short-term loan into a plan to get back to a bank.
- Prepayment Penalty CalculatorCalculator
Estimate what an early payout costs before you commit to the term.
Your path: behind on payments
Start with what to do today, then work through the process in the order it actually happens.
- What Happens if You Miss a Payment on a Private Mortgage?
Learn what happens next and what you can do about it today.
- Power of Sale Versus Foreclosure: Why Your Province Changes Everything
Find out which process applies where you live, and how it works.
- Can a Second Mortgage Lender Force the Sale of Your Home?
Read this if a second mortgage, not your first, is enforcing.
- What Happens to Your Second Mortgage if the First Lender Forecloses?
See what happens to your second mortgage and its debt here.
- Can a Private Lender Sue You for the Shortfall After Selling Your Home?
Learn whether you can still be pursued after your home sells.
- What if the Lender Will Not Discharge the Mortgage After You Pay?
Know how to get the charge off title once you have paid.
- Prepayment Penalty CalculatorCalculator
Know the payout cost before you refinance or sell to clear arrears.
- Mortgage Payment CalculatorCalculator
Test what a different amount or amortization does to the monthly payment.
Behind on payments right now?
None of these quite fit?
The citable fact: Pekoe Mortgages routes ten common borrower situations, first-time buyer through behind on payments, to a short sequence of existing Ask a Broker pages rather than one general article.
Looking for something specific?
Search or scan the full question index below if your situation does not map to one of the ten paths above. Every entry links to its own dedicated Ask a Broker page with the full, sourced answer.
| Theme | Question | What the answer covers |
|---|---|---|
| Getting qualified | What credit score do you actually need for a mortgage in Canada? | Minimum scores for insured and prime lending, and what is available below that line. |
| Getting qualified | How much mortgage can I actually afford? | How GDS and TDS ratios, income, and debt set your real ceiling. |
| Getting qualified | What is the mortgage stress test, and how much is it costing you? | The federal qualifying rate and how it shrinks your approved amount. |
| Getting qualified | What is a 30-year amortisation, and should you take one? | Who qualifies, the payment reduction, and the extra interest cost. |
| Paperwork and process | What documents do I need for a mortgage? | The full document list lenders ask for, start to finish. |
| Paperwork and process | How long does it take to get a mortgage approved? | The typical approval and closing timeline, and what slows it down. |
| Paperwork and process | Can I still be declined after I have been pre-approved? | Why final approval can differ from pre-approval, and how to protect it. |
| Paperwork and process | How long does a mortgage pre-approval last? | The window a rate and approval usually stay valid before you must reapply. |
| Costs | What is CMHC mortgage insurance, and what does it actually cost? | Premium bands, who needs it, and how it gets added to your mortgage. |
| Costs | Why is your payout statement higher than your balance? | The extra charges that show up on a payout you did not expect. |
| Harder files | Can I get a mortgage with bad credit? | Minimum thresholds and the alternative and private options available. |
| Harder files | Can you renew your mortgage if your credit or income got worse? | What a lender checks again at renewal and what happens if it slipped. |
| Harder files | Should I refinance my mortgage to consolidate debt? | When consolidating makes sense, and the tradeoffs against the alternatives. |
| Private lending | Turned down by a B lender, can you still go private? | What a private lender looks at once two other lenders have said no. |
| Private lending | How do you compare two private mortgage offers? | The fees and terms that matter more than the headline rate. |
| Private lending | What documents do you need for a private mortgage? | A shorter list than a bank asks for, and why. |
| Property types | How much down payment do I need for a rental property? | Down payment rules and qualifying differences for a rental purchase. |
| Property types | Can I get a mortgage on a second home or a vacation property? | Financing rules for a second property compared with a rental. |
| Property types | Can you get a mortgage on a co-op apartment? | Why co-ops are financed differently from a standard condo or freehold. |
| Enforcement and default | What happens if you miss a payment on a private mortgage? | What a lender does first, and the steps to take right away. |
| Enforcement and default | Power of sale versus foreclosure, why does your province change everything? | How the enforcement process differs between Ontario, Alberta, and other provinces. |
| Enforcement and default | Can a second mortgage lender force the sale of your home? | What a junior lender can and cannot do to enforce its charge. |
| Enforcement and default | What happens to your second mortgage if the first lender forecloses? | How a second charge and its debt are treated once the first lender acts. |
| Enforcement and default | Can a private lender sue you for the shortfall after selling your home? | Whether the debt can follow you after the property is sold. |
| Enforcement and default | What if the lender will not discharge the mortgage after you pay? | How to get a paid-off charge removed from title. |
| Legal and title | Do you have to get independent legal advice for a private mortgage? | Why a separate lawyer is often required before you sign. |
| Legal and title | Can you finance a property with a certificate of pending litigation on title? | Why a registered legal claim complicates financing and what lenders check. |
| Private lending | Can you borrow privately through a corporation or holding company? | How lending to a corporate borrower differs from lending to a person. |
| Private lending | Is a commitment or standby fee refundable if the deal dies? | What happens to this fee if financing does not close. |
| Private lending | Can you get a private mortgage on disability or a fixed income? | How lenders treat disability and fixed income when they qualify a file. |
| Private lending | Can you borrow privately when you are separated and still on title? | What is possible while ownership is unresolved between separating spouses. |
| Private lending | Can a non-resident get a private mortgage in Canada? | What changes for a borrower who does not live in Canada. |
| Private lending | What is a syndicated mortgage, and should you be careful? | How pooled private lending works, and the added risks to know. |
| Private lending | Can you lend or borrow through an RRSP mortgage? | How a registered plan can hold or fund a mortgage. |
| Private lending | What are the warning signs of a predatory private mortgage? | The terms and behaviour that signal a lender to avoid. |
| Private lending | What happens if your private lender dies or sells your mortgage? | What changes for you, and what does not, when a lender exits. |
| Property types | How do you finance a purchase at a tax sale or power of sale? | What is different about financing a discounted enforcement sale property. |
The citable fact: The Ask a Broker library covers qualifying, paperwork, costs, harder credit files, private lending, property types, legal and title issues, and enforcement and default, with a dedicated page for each question.
Frequently asked questions
Is the chat on this page an AI bot?
No. During business hours it connects you to a real, licensed member of the Pekoe team. Outside business hours your question goes to the team directly and a licensed broker replies, not an automated persona answering in their place.
Does it cost anything to ask a broker a question?
No. On a standard prime mortgage the lender compensates Pekoe, so asking a question and getting advice costs you nothing. On alternative or private files a lender or broker fee can apply, and it is disclosed to you in writing before you sign.
Are you licensed to work with me in my province?
Yes. Pekoe Mortgages holds FSRA Brokerage Licence #13321 in Ontario and is licensed by RECA in Alberta, so buyers, refinancers, and renewers in either province are working with a properly licensed broker.
Do you serve my city or town?
Pekoe is a digital, fully remote-capable brokerage working with clients across all of Ontario and all of Alberta. Wherever you are in either province, you reach the same licensed team by chat.
What if my situation does not match one of the ten paths?
Pick the closest one, or choose Something else in the pop-up that offers to help before you leave the page. A licensed broker can answer a question that falls outside all ten categories just as directly as one that fits neatly into one.
Do I have to pick the right category before I ask anything?
No. The ten paths are a starting point, not a requirement. If none of them fit, ask on chat directly and a broker will point you to the right answer.
Can you still help if my bank already said no?
Often, yes. A decline usually reflects one lender’s policy, not every lender’s policy, and Pekoe works with multiple lenders, including alternative options, for files that do not fit a single bank’s standard box.
Is what I type into the pop-up kept private?
Yes. It is sent directly to the Pekoe team and used only to answer your question, handled under the same privacy and confidentiality practices that cover every other conversation with a licensed broker.
Will I get a real answer outside business hours?
Yes, though not instantly. Chat still takes your question outside business hours, and a licensed broker replies directly once the team is back, rather than an AI-generated response standing in for one.
Who actually answers the questions on this site?
Dan Johanis, principal broker at Pekoe Mortgages, and the licensed team working under him in Ontario and Alberta. Every answer reflects a licensed broker’s professional judgement, not a generic script.
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