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A prequalification decline comes down to one criterion: ratio, income or credit. Knowing which tells you what is possible for a purchase in Grand Montréal, and with whom.
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 a lender approves and what you can comfortably pay are rarely the same number. Settle on the second one first: in Grand Montréal, taxes, insurance and heating come on top of the mortgage every month.
Count the timeline backwards from the signing date: lender review, mortgage insurance if it applies, the appraisal, and then the documents that will always be missing. A financing condition that is too short costs you an extension to ask the seller for, in Grand Montréal as anywhere.
The lender approves the property as much as the borrower. Condition, intended use, anything the inspection or the title flags: any of it can stall a Grand Montréal file that looked settled on the numbers alone.
On top of the down payment: notary fees, tax adjustments and transfer duty. In Grand Montréal the welcome tax often shows up months after the purchase, when the move and the furniture have already drained the account. That is exactly why people forget it.
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.