Closed in 2024 · Published October 17, 2026
- Residential
- Prime lender
- Purchase
- Relocation
- Debt consolidation
- Single income
- Purchase price
- $685,000
- Mortgage
- $385,000
- Loan-to-value
- about 56%
- Down payment
- $300,000
- Years with one employer
- More than 23
The Situation
Our client, the parent of a 12-year-old, had worked for one grocery chain in Surrey since November 2000 and was promoted to department manager at its Edmonton store. After four months staying with family in Edmonton, the client was ready to buy a seven-bedroom house there priced at $685,000, once the Surrey home sold.
The Challenge
The purchase depended on a sale completing the day before, the income was one salary of about $61,500 plus the child benefit, about $32,000 of car and card debt had to be cleared, and the debt-service ratios still came to about 46%.
The Solution
In 2024 we placed a mortgage of $385,000 with a major Canadian bank, about 56% of the price, on a three-year fixed term at about 5.6%. The bank counted more than 23 years with one employer, the salary and the child benefit of about $8,100 a year, and accepted the higher ratios. The Surrey home sold for $824,000, completing the day before, and supplied the $300,000 down payment and the closing costs; the debts were paid off before the mortgage advanced.
The Outcome
The client moved from a family member's home into a seven-bedroom house in Edmonton, with a mortgage on just over half its value, no other debts, and a two-bedroom basement expected to rent for about $1,300 a month.