Securing a Calgary Mortgage

Step 1: Contact a Mortgage Broker
The first step towards securing a mortgage is to contact a Calgary mortgage broker, and discuss your mortgage options. This way, you can determine what approach will be best for your particular situation. Additionally, you can get a feel for the mortgage process and complete an application to get the ball rolling!

Step 2: Get a Mortgage Pre-approval
Your Calgary broker will send in your mortgage application to a lender to obtain a pre-approval for you. A mortgage pre-approval is issued after a lender takes a quick glance at your application, and is essentially the lender saying “if the information provided is true, we would be happy to give you a mortgage.” The lender always reserves the right to change their mind.

Another thing a pre-approval gives you is an idea of what amount of mortgage you can afford, based on the information you provided. That way, you won’t be purchasing a Calgary home that’s outside of your price range. Finally, a pre-approval is also a rate hold for today’s interest rate (for 90 to 120 days, depending on the lender), so that if rates increase before you purchase your home, you will get the lowest rate.

Step 3: Go Calgary House Shopping
Once you have your pre-approval, you have a price range to work with. The next step is to go hunting for a Calgary home! A Realtor comes in very handy, since they search all available properties on the market for homes in your price range with the features you’re looking for. Once you have found the home you want to purchase, make an offer. Once the offer is accepted, it’s time to visit your mortgage broker again.

Step 4: Get a Conditional Mortgage Approval
Once you have an accepted offer on the property you wish to buy, you need to get a more concrete approval from the lender. This is known as a conditional approval, as the lender’s approval is based upon you providing certain documents to support your mortgage application and for all intents and purposes “prove” what you have said on your application. The most common documentation is an employment letter, recent pay stub, verification of your down payment, and purchase contract and listing sheet for the home you are buying (both of which can be provided by your Realtor). Once we have a conditional approval back for you, we’ll have a more concrete list of the documents the mortgage lender wants to review.

Step 5: Satisfy Mortgage Conditions
This is the step where you provide your broker with all the paperwork the lender has requested, which is then passed on to the lender. Once they have reviewed the documentation you supplied and are satisfied, you are satisfied! Conditions satisfied, that is.

Step 6: Sign at Lawyer
Closer to the day you take possession of your Calgary home (if you satisfied your conditions early), you will have to go into your lawyer’s office to sign final mortgage documentation, show you have home insurance lined up, and basically just tie up any loose ends. Your lawyer will take care of the rest!

Step 7: Move into Your Calgary Home!
On your possession date all that’s left is to get your keys from your Realtor and move in. Congrats on your new Calgary home!