Banks, monolines, credit unions and alternative lenders don’t apply the same criteria to income, credit or property type. So a no from one tells you nothing about the next answer.
What to collect before comparing
Two years of notices of assessment, recent income proof and proof of your down payment. Get them together before you compare and the timeline doesn’t hang on someone else’s desk.
Property and price
Your offer is only as good as the appraisal. Where few comparable sales exist in Grand Montréal, the appraiser can come in under the price you agreed to, and you cover the difference in cash. It does not get added to the mortgage.
Income and down payment
Before talking numbers, a lender asks for your proof of income, where the down payment comes from, what you already owe, and what is left each month once the bills are paid. That last one is the one buyers forget, almost every time.
Conditions compared
Rate is the easy comparison. On a purchase, two offers differ mostly in the penalty to break the term, in how much you can prepay each year and in whether the mortgage moves with you to the next home.
Documents before submission
A complete file the first time avoids the back-and-forth that adds weeks. It is almost never the analysis that drags on a Grand Montréal file. Somebody is waiting on an employer, a bank or an appraiser.
To prepare
What to gather.
Property type
Affordable monthly budget
Income documents
Available down payment
Closing deadline
Eligible lenders
Frequently asked
Can the file be reviewed remotely?+
Yes. It all runs by phone, email or video call, and documents go through online. We can meet in person, but most files get settled without anyone having to travel.
Which lenders can assess this kind of file?+
It depends on your income, your credit and the property. Banks, monoline lenders, credit unions and alternative lenders do not apply the same criteria, so a decline in one place tells you nothing about the next answer.
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.
