Without employment income, a new application gets very hard. But an existing loan keeps going, and many lenders offer temporary measures if you ask in time.
Your exact situation, your reserves, and the date of your next payment. Talk to the lender before you miss one. That opens options that disappear once a late payment is on file.
Every lender has its own rules
They differ on which income they accept, which properties they finance and how they read credit. One decline tells you little about the next answer, and the order you submit in counts.
Send a complete file
Get it right the first time and you skip the back-and-forth that adds weeks. Income proof, down payment records and property documents should be gathered before you submit. With a short deadline, that is the whole game.
Documents to gather
What the lender will ask for.
Purpose of the file
Income and paperwork
Debts and credit
Property or security
Timeline
Lender options
Frequently asked
What if I can no longer pay my mortgage?+
Call your lender before you miss a payment. Many offer temporary measures: deferral, reduced payments, longer amortization. Those are much easier to get before a late payment than after, because a recorded late changes the whole file.
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. Ready before the offer, they make a five-day financing condition workable. Ready after, they add 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.
