The score alone doesn’t tell the story. Lenders look mostly at how recent the late payments are, how serious, and whether things have settled down since.
When your latest late payments happened, any accounts in collection, how much of your card limits you use. A missed payment from three years ago doesn’t read like one from last month, and card utilisation can be fixed in weeks.
Stabilize, then submit
Some fixes take weeks: getting card utilisation under 30%, clearing a collection. Others need months of clean payments. Knowing which is which tells you when to apply.
Cost and exit
If you need an alternative lender, the plan matters more than the rate. What it costs, how long it lasts, and what has to change before you can go back to a conventional lender.
Documents to gather
What the lender will ask for.
Reason for the file
Income and paperwork
Debts and credit
Property or security
Timeline
Lender options
Frequently asked
What credit score do I need for a mortgage?+
There’s no single number. Traditional lenders want a high one; alternative lenders take a lower one at a higher rate. Often, getting card utilisation under 30% and paying on time for a few months does more than waiting.
Which documents should I gather?+
Your last two notices of assessment, recent pay stubs, an employment letter, three months of bank statements and proof of your down payment. Have them before the offer and a five-day financing condition is workable. After, it costs weeks.
Current rates
Today’s rates, with the fine print.
These rates are indicative. Yours depends on your file, the type of mortgage (insured or not) and the lender. And look at the penalty too, it matters as much as the number.
Buying, renewing, refinancing, or something a bit out of the ordinary: tell us where you’re at, even if it’s still fuzzy. Mathieu gets back to you with next steps and the documents to pull together.
