Closed in 2024 · Published October 17, 2026
- Residential
- Prime lender
- Purchase
- Down payment
- Single income
- Part-time income
- Purchase price
- about $600,000
- Mortgage
- about $300,000
- Loan-to-value
- 50%
- Years with one employer
- Twelve
- Credit score
- 834
The Situation
Our client, a single parent of two children aged 10 and 12 who live with the client, has worked part-time hours for one engineering employer for twelve years, earning about $127,000, to be home for the children. With an 834 credit score and savings of about $424,000, the client wanted a three-bedroom condo in New Westminster priced at about $600,000.
The Challenge
Part-time employment and support payments to a former partner can give a lender pause, even when the income and the savings are strong.
The Solution
In 2024 we placed a mortgage of about $300,000 with a major Canadian bank, 50% of the price, on a five-year variable term at about 7% at the time. The bank read twelve years of part-time tenure as stable income, and the half-down purchase came from the client's savings, keeping the debt-service ratios at about 41%.
The Outcome
A three-bedroom home close to transit and amenities for the family, on a payment one part-time income carries comfortably.