Self-employed income, CRA arrears, consumer proposals, refused renewals — the files banks decline are the files I solve, with an exit plan back to bank rates
Canada's banks run narrow lending boxes: verifiable salaried income, clean credit, low ratios, standard properties. Fall outside that box — because you're incorporated, because CRA is owed money, because a proposal or a divorce or a business downturn left marks on your credit, because your renewal landed during a tightening cycle — and the answer is no, regardless of the equity in your home or the reality of your cash flow.
The Canadian market has three lending tiers for a reason. B-lenders and private lenders exist precisely for the files banks decline, and the professional's job is to place your file in the right tier today with a mapped return to bank pricing tomorrow. With over 25 years in credit and lending, I don't quote rates to people the banks already approve — I build solutions for the people they don't. If your file were simple, you wouldn't be reading this page.
A renewal is a new credit decision — and banks do decline them. You will not lose your home overnight, but the clock matters. An alternative lender takes out the existing mortgage at maturity, often at better terms than the punitive offer made to trapped renewers. Start before the maturity date.
Get Ahead of the RenewalYour accountant minimized your taxable income; the bank then qualified you on that minimized number. Stated-income and bank-statement programs qualify you on gross revenue and real deposits. Incorporated? Corporate financials, dividends, and retained earnings can count.
Qualify on Real Cash FlowBanks decline on sight when CRA is owed. The standard solution: a refinance that pays CRA out at closing, before a lien forces your hand. B-lenders and private lenders do this routinely — the earlier we move, the more options and the better the terms.
Clear CRA Through RefinanceFinancing exists during an active proposal — and paying the proposal out through a refinance can accelerate your credit recovery by years. Post-proposal and post-bankruptcy files widen steadily with each month of re-established credit. There is a mapped path back.
Map the Recovery PathNot a last resort — a transition tool. One-to-three-year terms that solve today's decline while the file is repaired. Every alternative mortgage I place includes an exit plan: what must be true in 12–36 months to return to bank pricing.
See the Exit Plan ApproachIf a Canadian bank’s US cross-border program declined you for a mortgage on US property, that's a different toolbox — foreign national and DSCR programs that use Canadian credit and documents. Even the bank you’ve dealt with for decades in Canada underwrites US files through a separate US entity, with different policies and management targets — the relationship doesn’t cross the border. I'm licensed on both sides of the border (NMLS #2613311).
US Decline SolutionsBanks rarely tell you the full story. The stated reason and the actual reason often differ — I read the file the way a credit manager does, because I was one.
A-lender, B-lender, or private — the file goes where it fits today. No wasted applications, no stacked credit inquiries, no repeating the same decline.
Any alternative mortgage I place comes with the return path defined: which credit repairs, which documents, which timeline gets you back to bank rates.
If your file has no solution, I'll tell you that too — with what has to change before it does. No stringing files along, no false hope, no jargon.
Canada's market has three tiers: A-lenders (banks, narrowest criteria), B-lenders (regulated, flexible on income and credit), and private lenders (asset-based, short-term). Most declined files fit a B-lender today with a mapped return to bank rates within one to three years. The decline reason — income documentation, credit event, tax arrears, property — determines the path.
Yes — a renewal is a new credit decision. But you can't be forced out overnight, and an alternative lender can take out the existing mortgage at maturity, often at better terms than the punitive rate offered to trapped renewers. The critical factor is starting before the maturity date.
Yes. Banks qualify you on the net income your accountant legally minimized. Stated-income and bank-statement programs qualify you on gross revenue and real deposits; incorporated professionals can use corporate financials, dividends, and retained earnings banks won't count.
Yes — the standard solution is a refinance that pays CRA out at closing. Banks decline these files on sight; B-lenders and private lenders handle them routinely. Move before CRA registers a lien: earlier means more options and better terms.
Yes. Options exist during an active proposal, and paying the proposal out through a refinance can accelerate credit recovery by years. Post-proposal, choices widen with each month of re-established credit.
No — they're transition tools with one-to-three-year terms. Every alternative mortgage I place includes an exit plan: what must be true in 12, 24, or 36 months to return to bank pricing.
Tell me who declined you and why — if they told you. I'll give you a straight answer on what's solvable, in which tier, and on what timeline. If nothing fits, I'll tell you that too, along with exactly what has to change first.