Bad credit mortgages.
Scores in the 500s, a proposal or bankruptcy behind you, payments that got away — placed today, with a written plan back to prime. BC and Alberta.
Banks lend on the last two years of your credit file; life doesn't schedule its disasters that way. A divorce, an illness, a business that failed — the score records the event, not the recovery. The bruised-credit market exists precisely for that gap, and it only goes wrong when it has no exit: high-rate money with no plan is a trap, the same money with a dated route back to prime is a bridge. Every file we place here comes with the second thing.
Whatever the credit file says, there's a lane.
Low-score files placed with lenders who price the story, not just the number.
Funding a proposal through equity, paying one out early, or qualifying while one is active.
Post-bankruptcy purchases and refinances, with the route back to insured lending mapped in writing.
Recent lates, collections, or maxed cards — consolidated and stabilized before they get worse.
Equity used to clear the debts that are bleeding the score, so the rebuild actually starts.
Buying now at Alternative pricing rather than renting through two more years of rebuilding.
Arrears and demand letters bridged before a forced sale takes the equity with it.
The point of every file: a dated plan to move back to bank pricing at renewal.
The staircase back to prime.
Three lanes, used in sequence when needed: stabilize, rebuild, graduate. We place you on the cheapest step your file supports today.
Where most bruised-credit files land. The rate premium is temporary by design — the term is a runway to rebuild, then refinance at bank pricing.
The emergency room, not the recovery ward: clear the collections, stop the foreclosure, consolidate the bleeding — then step down to B-side, then prime.
Insured lenders generally want to see credit re-established after a bankruptcy or proposal — the '2-2-2' shorthand: roughly two years, two new credit lines, reasonable limits. We put the date in the plan and work backwards.
Rates, ratios, and leverage are typical ranges for illustration — last reviewed July 2026 — and depend on the file. Map your own timeline with the back-to-prime calculator.
Case Studies — files like this
Why this file belongs here: a business owner with bruised credit, declined by the banks and paying private-lender rates. The file was placed with credit repair built into the plan, then refinanced at half the cost.
- Case study · Commercial / Alternative-to-ABanks Declined. Private Lenders Charged 10%+. We Cut His Rate in Half.Cut the borrower's interest rate in half, moved from double-digit private mortgage costs to an alternative commercial mortgage, paid down principal, improved his credit and cash flow, and positioned him for a prime-lender refinance within two years — one broker, one custom plan, from private exit to prime placement.Read the file →
- Case study · Residential / AlternativeA COVID Income Dip and a Collection: An Alternative Lender's Open Equity Line at 73% in DeltaA film location scout with a COVID income dip and a collection already cleared: an alternative lender's open equity line at 9.99% in 2022, behind the first mortgage at about 73% of the Delta home's value, paid out the personal loan and left a cash reserve.Read the file →
- Case study · Residential / PrivateA 599 Score and a Bank First Worth Keeping: A Private Second Mortgage at 61% in Coquitlam Cleared the Debts and Funded the UpgradesA 599 credit score, personal and family debts, and a bank first mortgage worth keeping. A private second mortgage of $250,000 at 61% in 2025, interest-only on a one-year open term, cleared the debts and funded the home's upgrades.Read the file →
More case studies like these (15)
- Presale Completed on a Private Open Term
- Collections and a U.S. Hospital Bill Cleared
- Judgment, CPL, 497 Score: Title Cleared
- Sixteen Debts Into One Private Second
- Single Parent, 594 Score, Refinance at 60%
- Consumer Proposal Paid, 1.79% First Kept
- Equity Line Cleared Debt at Scores Under 530
- Leasehold Condo First Home, Insured at 90%
- Second Mortgage With an Interest Reserve
- Alberta Presale on a Private Open Mortgage
- Alberta Retirees' Written-Off Debts Cleared
- Bankruptcy Behind Them, Alberta Purchase
- Consumer Proposal: From 10% to Under 5%
- About $240K of Retiree Debt in One Private Loan
- Retirees: Private to a Bank in One Year
Common bruised-credit questions.
Can I get a mortgage with a credit score in the 500s?+
Often, yes. Alternative (B) lenders regularly place scores in the 500s at up to 80% loan-to-value, pricing roughly 1–3% above bank rates with about a 1% fee. The score sets the price, not the possibility — what matters more is the story behind it and the equity or down payment in the deal.
See it on a real file: Equity Line Cleared Debt at Scores Under 530 →
Can I get a mortgage after a consumer proposal or bankruptcy?+
Yes — including, in some cases, while a proposal is still active: select lenders fund against equity with the proposal payout built into the advance. After discharge, B-lenders come first, and insured bank lending typically returns once credit re-establishes — the shorthand is about two years and two new credit lines, managed well.
Should I pay out my consumer proposal early?+
If there's home equity, frequently yes. A refinance that pays the proposal out in full stops the monthly payments and starts the credit-rebuild clock years earlier — the R7 rating ages from completion, not from your last payment. We run the math against your equity before you decide.
See it on a real file: Consumer Proposal Paid, 1.79% First Kept →
Will one bad year follow me forever?+
No. Bruised-credit lending is built as a staircase: private capital stabilizes the emergency, a B-lender carries the rebuild years, and a bank refinance ends the story. Most files that follow the plan are back at prime pricing within a few renewal cycles — the expensive mistake is staying parked on high-rate money with no exit date.
I'm behind on my mortgage and getting letters — is it too late?+
Not if you move now. Equity-based lenders can pay out arrears and stop a foreclosure before it consumes your equity in legal costs and a below-market sale. The window narrows with every letter, so this is the one file where speed matters more than rate.
Does consolidating my debts into the mortgage help my credit?+
Usually, twice over: the collections and maxed cards that drag the score get cleared, and the freed monthly cash flow makes every remaining payment easier to keep perfect. Track the payoff timeline with our back-to-prime calculator.
How long until I'm back at bank rates?+
The honest answer is a date, not a guess — it depends on what happened, when the discharge was, and how the rebuild is managed. We map it in writing at the start: which lender now, what has to be true at renewal, and when the insured file becomes possible.
See it on a real file: Retirees: Private to a Bank in One Year →
Rebuilding? Have these on hand.
Nothing on this list disqualifies you — it just tells us which step of the staircase you're on. No judgment; we've seen every version of this file.
- Current credit report if you have one — or we pull it together and walk through it line by line
- Details of the events — proposal or bankruptcy paperwork, discharge dates, collection notices
- Proof of income — pay stubs and job letter, or business income documents
- Current mortgage statement and property tax bill (refinance)
- List of all debts — balances, payments, and which ones hurt the most
- 90-day history for any down payment (purchase)
- Notices of Assessment, last 2 years
- Any arrears or demand letters — sooner is genuinely better
One bad chapter isn't the book. Start here.
Tell us what happened and where things stand — confidentially — and we'll tell you which step fits today and the date prime becomes realistic.