Region served
When the mortgage insurer says no, the lender has not said no. The options for a purchase in Grand Montréal: another insurer, or 20% down.
A decline is an internal policy decision. It isn’t a verdict on you. Get the exact reason, because an exceeded ratio, a miscalculated income and an ineligible property each lead to a different next step. Without the reason, shopping elsewhere means starting over blind.
The decline reason in writing, if you can get it, and the file as it was submitted. Add your notices of assessment, income proof and down payment proof. Find out how many credit checks were already run too. Piling them up eventually hurts the file.
What you plan to do with the property weighs more than its price. Living in it, renting it out or a bit of both changes the down payment required and which lenders will look at a Grand Montréal file.
The paperwork depends on the property: leases and the tax bill for a revenue building, the declaration of co-ownership for a condo, a location certificate every time. If there is work involved, add the quotes and proof of compliance. Ask early, it varies in Grand Montréal.
The appraiser works from recent sales, not from the asking price. Where comparables are thin (a rural sector, an unusual property), the value can land under what you agreed to pay, and you make up the gap in cash.
Municipal and school taxes vary from one municipality to the next, and they count in your ratios. The lender works from the Grand Montréal tax bill, plus heating, insurance and upkeep. Do the same math before it does.
To prepare
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.
No. Each lender has its own policies, and a decline does not show up on your credit report. Do ask for the exact reason, though: without it, comparing elsewhere means starting over blind.
Pick the situation closest to yours.
Contact
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.