Region served
When the financing condition expires in a few days, timing becomes the criterion. What to hand over on the first call for a Côte-Nord file.
Timing becomes the criterion. A lender that gives the best answer in three weeks is useless if the financing condition expires Friday. What slows a file down is the appraisal, the notary or a missing document, almost never the analysis.
The complete file on the first call: notices of assessment, proof of income, down payment, the signed offer to purchase, the notary’s contact details. Each missing piece costs a day or two, and that pile-up is what blows tight deadlines.
The appraiser looks at what similar properties actually sold for, not at your offer. With few comparables in Côte-Nord, the value can come in low. The shortfall comes out of your pocket, not out of the mortgage.
Income proof, down payment source, debts, monthly budget. That’s what the file is built from.
Rate is the easy part to compare. On a purchase in Côte-Nord, two offers mostly differ in the penalty to break the term, how much you can prepay each year, and whether the mortgage follows you to your next home.
Send everything at once. Every round of "we still need one more document" adds days, and the delays come from third parties (employer, bank, appraiser), not from the lender’s analysis.
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.
An answer within 24 to 48 hours is common when the file is complete. What stretches the rest is the appraisal, the notary and whatever documents are missing. Set your financing condition to match.
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.