Nine stages from working out what you can buy to what happens if it goes wrong. Each one tells you what happens, who does what, which documents are needed, and where the real answers live. Start at your stage, not at the beginning.
Pekoe Mortgages is licensed in Ontario (FSRA #13321) and Alberta (RECA). These pages route you to the answer. They do not replace it.
The journey sorts by where you are. The Situation Router sorts by who you are. If you know you are a first-time buyer or self-employed, start from the router. If you know you have an offer in and a deadline running, start from the stage.
Most people arrive mid-journey. Every stage page links forward and back, so you can pick up the thread wherever you land.
Sits outside the nine because it happens first. Who arranges your mortgage decides which lenders ever see your file, and on a standard residential mortgage the lender pays the brokerage when it closes, not you.
| Stage | What it decides | Who leads it |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Can you buy, and for how much | The price range you can actually finance | You and your broker |
| 2. Getting pre-approved | Which lender is likely to fund you, and on what terms | Your broker and the lender |
| 3. Making the offer | How much property risk you carry personally | You and your agent |
| 4. Underwriting and your documents | Whether the pre-approval becomes a commitment | The lender |
| 5. Closing | Nothing, if the earlier stages were done properly | Your lawyer |
| 6. Living with the mortgage | How much interest you pay, and how free you are to move | You |
| 7. Renewal | What you pay for the next term, and whether you had anywhere else to go | You and your broker |
| 8. Refinancing and taking out equity | Whether breaking and re-registering is worth what you get | Your broker and lawyer |
| 9. If it goes wrong | How much time you have, and whether options remain | A lawyer, first |
No. Most people arrive in the middle. Open the stage that matches where you are, and use the track at the top to move either way.
The router sorts by who you are, such as first-time buyer or self-employed. The journey sorts by where you are in the transaction. They cross rather than compete.
Stages 1 and 2 can be done in days. Stage 3 runs on a deadline of commonly 5 to 10 business days. Stage 6 lasts years, and stage 7 comes round at every maturity.
Stage 3 carries the most risk in the shortest time, and stage 7 has the most money on the table for the least effort usually spent on it.
No, deliberately. Each stage page tells you what happens and who does it, then links to the page that answers each question properly.
Both. Where the provinces genuinely differ, such as land transfer tax and what happens on default, the stage pages say so and split the answer.
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.