How we are helping realtor partner's clients create more listings and deals by creatively solving problems.

Joel Olson • March 23, 2022

In busy markets, the average consumer will assume that it's like a gravy train for us, but you and I know that couldn't be further from the truth...

In busy markets, the average consumer will assume that it's like a gravy train for us.


Money's constantly coming in, followed by days of long lunches and endless leisure activities as we make the easiest money we've ever made in our lives.


In reality, both you and I know that a busy market is not easy.


In fact, it's very hard work.


The challenges that we face today are much different than a different market climate and the challenges that we face today, some of them can become even more challenging and more frustrating than what we've encountered before.


I know it, and we hear it from realtors we talk to daily that the crucial lack of inventory makes a huge impact on their business.


Many of our buyers who are pre-approved for months on end, finally leave the market finding nothing to suit their needs after countless multiple offers.


After countless situations where they're outbid feeling frustrated and some never return to the market to purchase a home

Lately, I've been noticing from the clients we talk to that they are keenly unaware of some strategic ways that they can take advantage of the seller's market.


In fact, there's clients that we have right now that have things that you could be listing, that they don't even realize.


Below, I've articulated a few different ideas that I've found lately with clients that you may not have thought about and should give you a great opportunity to reach out to some of those clients, to see if you can find a few more listings to fill up the inventory that we're all lacking.


Number one:

Any buyer with an acreage, or maybe a lot that could be subdivided are potentially people that have not thought about selling off part of their lot.


Many people are daunted by what they assume is cost prohibitive for them to subdivide.


What if I told you that we offer mortgages that don't require income or credit, but short term loans specifically to allow somebody to subdivide their lot and to take the cost of which to pay out when they sell off the lot .


You could be approaching your clients that have bigger lots that could be subdivided with the idea that you could sell off their lot for them, and also arrange the cost of the subdivision in order for them to profit off the lot.

This is truly something that most people haven't even thought of.


Especially if you have buyers that maybe are feeling like they don't need that much more area to their property.

Number two  


A very interesting thing that I saw last year was a lot of clients who typically have seen opportunities such as buying suited homes.


Of course, it makes sense. We all talk about the holy grail of buying a property with a mortgage helper that enables the cost on a monthly basis to go down and how much that increases your qualifying and makes it more appealing to the average buyer.


However, a new, a strategy evolved last year that we thought many of our clients taking advantage of.


That strategy was to split their house into two, essentially making it a duplex, selling off that one side.


And for most of our clients... becoming absolutely mortgage free, especially with the house price increase in the market.

We saw people paying for the cost to simply stratify their house into a duplex, being able to go from having a mortgage, to being mortgage free completely.


For many of these clients, they were not near retirement and were easily in their early thirties and now have a completely different financial picture.


If you have clients that have a house that could be split into a duplex and they are talking to you about not needing all that space, we offer loans that will give them the cost of both renovating and the legal cost to subdivide their property into two, without them them needing any income or credit.


Again, a short term loan where they are able to do that and end up in a much better financial picture.


And of course you have one more listing that you can sell in this busy market and actually a listing that probably is something that's easier to move and is something that is in the price range of many of the people that are being priced out of the market.

Number three


The folks that want to downsize, but don't know how.


It dawned on me a few weeks ago when we had a client call talking about his fear that he would sell his house and not find another house and essentially be homeless because he knew his house would sell fast, but he also knew it'd be very difficult to find a house and he could not put himself in that position.


But with his health failing and with his situation turning where his house was certainly not what he needed to be in.


And the idea where he'd have to go into something a lot smaller making complete sense, he was at a crossroads.


How would he do that?


He was a senior with a lower income.


Most of his wealth was tied up in his house as is often the case.


How would he be able to arrange that time period?


Did you know that we offer bridge loans for clients that have a home that they need to sell and are buying another home that they want to buy?


These loans have no payments and we pay them off when the home is sold.


So if you have clients that are downsizing, we can offer them the money to go into that home and wait to make all the timing work, so they have not one night of being homeless.

Certainly these are just a few of the ways that we are seeing realtors come up with listings where it seems like there isn't any.


I would always welcome the opportunity to sit down for a coffee with you and see if there's any way we can help make your business better.


As always, I'm available to help any of your clients at any point

A man with a beard and a suit is smiling for the camera.
Joel Olson
GET STARTED
A woman is sitting at a desk with her hands on her head in front of a laptop computer.

Don’t Let Collections Derail Your Mortgage Application

By Joel Olson • December 2, 2025
Can You Get a Mortgage If You Have Collections on Your Credit Report? Short answer? Not easily. Long answer? It depends—and it’s more common (and fixable) than you might think. When it comes to applying for a mortgage, your credit report tells lenders a story. Collections—debts that have been passed to a collection agency because they weren’t paid on time—are big red flags in that story. Regardless of how or why they got there, open collections are going to hurt your chances of getting approved. Let’s break this down. What Exactly Is a Collection? A collection appears on your credit report when a bill goes unpaid for long enough that the lender decides to stop chasing you—and hires a collection agency to do it instead. It doesn’t matter whether it was an unpaid phone bill, a forgotten credit card, or a disputed fine: to a lender, it signals risk. And lenders don’t like risk. Why It Matters to Mortgage Lenders? Lenders use your credit report to gauge how trustworthy you are with borrowed money. If they see you haven’t paid a past debt, especially recently, it suggests you might do the same with a new mortgage—and that’s enough to get your application denied. Even small collections can cause problems. A $32 unpaid utility bill might seem insignificant to you, but to a lender, it’s a red flag waving loudly. But What If I Didn’t Know About the Collection? It happens all the time. You move provinces and miss a final utility charge. Your cell provider sends a bill to an old address. Or maybe the collection is showing in error—credit reports aren’t perfect, and mistakes do happen. Regardless of the reason, the responsibility to resolve it still falls on you. Even if it’s an honest oversight or an error, lenders will expect you to clear it up or prove it’s been paid. And What If I Chose Not to Pay It? Some people intentionally leave certain collections unpaid—maybe they disagree with a charge, or feel a fine is unfair. Here are a few common “moral stand” collections: Disputed phone bills COVID-related fines Traffic tickets Unpaid spousal or child support While you might feel justified, lenders don’t take sides. They’re not interested in why a collection exists—only that it hasn’t been dealt with. And if it’s still active, that could be enough to derail your mortgage application. How Can You Find Out What’s On Your Report? Easy. You can check it yourself through services like Equifax or TransUnion, or you can work with a mortgage advisor to go through a full pre-approval. A pre-approval will quickly uncover any credit issues, including collections—giving you a chance to fix them before you apply for a mortgage. What To Do If You Have Collections Verify: Make sure the collection is accurate. Pay or Dispute: Settle the debt or begin a dispute process if it’s an error. Get Proof: Even if your credit report hasn’t updated yet, documentation showing the debt is paid can be enough for some lenders. Work With a Pro: A mortgage advisor can help you build a strategy and connect you with lenders who offer flexible solutions. Collections are common, but they can absolutely block your path to mortgage financing. Whether you knew about them or not, the best approach is to take action early. If you’d like to find out where you stand—or need help navigating your credit report—I’d be happy to help. Let’s make sure your next mortgage application has the best possible chance of approval.
A bunch of cans of paint are sitting on top of a table.

Finance Your Home Renovations

By Joel Olson • November 18, 2025
If you’re looking to do some home renovations but don’t have all the cash up front to pay for materials and contractors, here are a few ways to use mortgage financing to bring everything together. Existing Home Owners - Mortgage Refinance Probably the most straightforward solution, if you’re an existing homeowner, would be to access home equity through a mortgage refinance. Depending on the terms of your existing mortgage, a mid-term mortgage refinance might make good financial sense; there’s even a chance of lowering your overall cost of borrowing while adding the cost of the renovations to your mortgage. As your financial situation is unique, it never hurts to have the conversation, run the numbers, and look at your options. Let’s talk! If you're not in a huge rush, it might be worth waiting until your existing term is up for renewal. This is a great time to refinance as you won’t incur a penalty to break your existing mortgage. Now, regardless of when you refinance, mid-term or at renewal, you’re able to access up to 80% of the appraised value of your home, assuming you qualify for the increased mortgage amount. Home Equity Line of Credit Instead of talking with a bank about an unsecured line of credit, if you have significant home equity, a home equity line of credit (HELOC) could be a better option for you. An unsecured line of credit usually comes with a pretty high rate. In contrast, a HELOC uses your home as collateral, allowing the lender to give you considerably more favourable terms. There are several different ways to use a HELOC, so if you’d like to talk more about what this could look like for you, connect anytime! Buying a Property - Purchase Plus Improvements If you’re looking to purchase a property that could use some work, some lenders will allow you to add extra money to your mortgage to cover the cost of renovations. This is called a purchase plus improvements. The key thing to keep in mind is that the renovations must increase the value of the property. There is a process to follow and a lot of details to go over, but we can do this together. So if you’d like to discuss using your mortgage to cover the cost of renovating your home, please connect anytime!