Published August 8, 2026
- Residential
- Separation
- Purchase
- Down payment
- Rate hold
- Prime lender
- Approvals run
- Two
- Release word
- Four business days out
- Bank's change
- Two days before funding
- Fees avoided
- more than $20,000
The Situation
In Metro Vancouver, a client going through a separation needed a residential mortgage for themselves and their child, with the down payment coming from the family home sale.
The Challenge
The separation agreement was not yet signed. A second property was becoming the ex spouse's, but that lender was slow to release the client, so its payment still counted against them.
The Solution
We secured rate holds early, then ran two approvals: a major Canadian bank, and an alternative B lender that would debt service both properties if the release did not land in time. The alternative approval was complete and ready to fund, so the closing did not depend on the release arriving. We stayed in front of every moving part: the realtor selling the family home, the realtor on the purchase, the notary closing one deal and the solicitor closing the other, the appraiser, and the ex spouse's lender. Release word came four business days out, and we took that proof to the bank.
The Outcome
The bank granted the change two business days before funding, and the client completed on time with the bank instead of the fallback. Closing with the A lender avoided the alternative lender's fees, 2% of the mortgage and more than $20,000. We had completed the alternative file as well, and chose not to keep a broker fee for that work. The client later referred someone else going through a separation.