Services
Most people meet a mortgage agent once, at the moment they need a deal funded. I work the other way around. I coach clients through the strategy first, the structure second, and the application last, because the order matters more than the rate. The four services below aren't four different transactions. They're one connected approach to using debt as a tool, told from a seat that happens to also build and own real estate in Southern Georgian Bay.
Mortgage Strategy Consultation
This is the conversation before the application. We map what you actually own, what you're trying to build, and where your current mortgage fits or fights that picture. I think out loud with you about timing, structure, and the trade-offs nobody walks through at the bank. You leave with a plan you understand, not a product you got sold. The honest answer sometimes is "do nothing for now," and that's a valid outcome of a strategy call.
Investor Mortgage Coaching
If you already own a rental, or you're sizing up your first one, the file looks different. Projected rental income, suite legality, DSCR (the property paying for itself on paper), and how the next deal qualifies depend on how this one is structured. I've underwritten my own rental files and built the units sitting behind them, so we talk through the lender's lens and the operator's lens at the same time. Coaching, not pitching.
Renewal Strategy
A renewal letter is a starting point, not an offer. Most people sign it because the alternative feels like work. The thing I keep coming back to is that renewal is the cheapest moment to restructure, refinance for a project, pull equity for the next deal, or just shorten the term to match what you actually think rates are doing. We sit down 90 to 120 days out and decide on purpose, instead of by default.
Pre-approval and Deal Structuring
A pre-approval is only useful if it survives contact with a real property. I structure files for what you're actually trying to buy, whether that's a primary, a rental, a duplex conversion, or a build with construction draws (lender funds released at milestones). We look at down payment sources, HELOC capacity, alt-A and private options for self-employed income, and how this deal positions the next one. The goal is a file that closes, not just one that gets issued.
Self-Employed and Business-Owner Files
Most of my files have a self-employed or business-owner element. That's where banks fall apart, and where the right broker matters most. T1 Generals with legitimate deductions look thin to a T4-trained underwriter. T2 corporate returns, draws vs salary, retained earnings, and add-backs read differently at different lenders. I know the BFS (Business For Self) and alt-A landscape, which lenders read self-employed returns generously, and how to package the file so the underwriter sees the right story the first time. I run my own businesses (this practice, a build company, a rental portfolio), so when you walk me through your return, I'm reading it the way I read my own. If you've been declined or low-balled by your bank, that's usually a lender problem, not a file problem.
Start with a conversation
Most files start here. About 30 minutes, structure first, the rate question last. No pressure, just a conversation.
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Before you book any broker call
Eleven questions a Canadian mortgage broker should be able to answer cleanly, with what a good answer sounds like and what an evasive one sounds like. The questions are the same whether you're talking to me or anyone else.
Read the questions →