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Tim Lyon
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In today’s real estate and financial markets, it can be hard to feel like anyone is in your corner. Navigating through the nuances of the financial world can seem overwhelming, confusing, or even like another language. This is where I can help!
Prior to becoming a mortgage broker, I graduated from the University of Victoria with my BEng in Mechanical Engineering. Following graduation, I worked for five years in technical sales, focusing on real world problem-solving for a wide variety of customers. This background allows me to bring a unique perspective to the mortgage industry, utilizing my analytical and interpersonal skills to find the best solutions for my clients.
In my personal time, I am an avid grappler. I have a long history in the sport, having both coached and competed at a black belt level in judo. More recently, I have turned my attention to a new athletic journey in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, where I can continue to grow my mental and physical skills.
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Mortgage articles to keep you informed.
By Tim Lyon
•
October 28, 2025
If you're buying a home with less than 20% down, you'll need something called an insured mortgage. Many borrowers find this confusing at first, especially since it doesn’t refer to insurance for you, the borrower. That’s why I have put together this straightforward breakdown so you understand what insured mortgages are, why they exist, and how they affect your purchase. What Is an Insured Mortgage? A mortgage must be insured when a borrower makes a down payment of less than 20% on a home purchase. The insurance protects the lender (not the borrower) in case the borrower defaults. The insurance is guaranteed by the federal government. So, why do we have this program? It allows borrowers to buy homes with smaller down payments and higher loan-to-value (LTV) ratios. Higher loan-to-value mortgages are inherently more risky because there is not much cushion if the housing market starts to decline. For example, if someone buys a $500,000 home with only 5% down ($25,000), they’ll need a $475,000 mortgage—this is a 95% LTV . If the market drops and the home’s value falls to $470,000, the mortgage would still be $475,000. If the borrower stopped making payments, the lender could lose money after selling the home and paying costs. That kind of loss, multiplied across thousands of borrowers, could threaten the stability of the entire banking system (as we saw in the U.S. in 2008). The mortgage insurance system is designed to prevent that scenario by spreading risk and keeping lenders protected. How Does the Insurance Work? You, the borrower, pay the insurance premium. It's typically added directly to your mortgage balance rather than paid upfront. The cost depends on your down payment size and amortization. Example: Purchase price: $500,000 Down payment: $25,000 (5%) Mortgage amount: $475,000 Insurance premium: 4.2% = $19,950 Total new mortgage: $494,950 The insurance does add cost, but insured mortgages usually offer slightly lower interest rates because the lender's risk is minimal. The rate savings don't fully offset the premium, but they help. The Insurer’s Role For insured mortgages, the insurer’s approval is the most important part of the process. If the insurer won’t approve the file, no lender can. Once the insurer signs off, we can typically find a lender to fund the loan. Canada has three mortgage insurers: CMHC (public) Sagen (private) Canada Guaranty (private) All of the insurers are backed by government guarantees and have to follow similar rules, but each has a few unique programs. Lenders usually choose the insurer, though I sometimes work with them to send a file to a specific insurer if it benefits the borrower. Qualification Rules Because insured mortgages are government-backed, the rules are strict: Debt ratios: 39% of your income can go toward your stress-tested mortgage payment, property taxes, heat, and half of condo fees 44% of your income can go toward the above plus your other debts Down payment: 5% on the first $500,000, 10% on the remainder Maximum purchase price: $1.5 million Amortization: Maximum of 25 years for most buyers; up to 30 years for first-time buyers who qualify under the new federal program Unlike with an uninsured mortgage, where lenders may have some flexibility if your income ratios are slightly above the limits, there is no discretion on an insured mortgage. If your ratios exceed the limits even a little bit, the insurer will decline the application. The Approval Process The process is similar to an uninsured mortgage, with one extra step: We submit your mortgage application to the lender of choice They do their initial review If that looks good, they package it up and send it to the insurer Once the insurer has reviewed and approved it, the file comes back to the lender for final review and approval Common Misunderstandings About Insured Mortgages Many borrowers are surprised to learn the following facts about insured mortgages: You do not need to be a first-time homebuyer to buy with less than 20% down You cannot buy an investment property with less than 20% down You can buy a second home with less than 20% down You cannot refinance an insured mortgage and keep the insurance. If you have an insured mortgage and do refinance, you will lose the insurance. This mostly affects the lender, but it also moves you to uninsured rates. Why Choose an Insured Mortgage? Given the cost and restrictions, why would anyone choose an insured mortgage? The main reason is accessibility . It allows you to buy a home without saving a full 20% down payment, which is increasingly difficult with high home prices and living costs. It can also be a strategic choice. Some buyers prefer to keep more of their savings invested or diversified instead of tying everything up in a down payment. If your investments are earning more than your mortgage costs, keeping that money invested might make financial sense. Real-World Example Let's say you're buying a $600,000 home. Here's how the costs compare between the minimum down payment for an insured mortgage and the minimum down payment for an uninsured mortgage:
By Tim Lyon
•
October 20, 2025
The part of mortgage approval nobody likes but everyone needs
By Tim Lyon
•
October 9, 2025
Credit. The ability of a customer to obtain goods or services before payment, based on the trust that you will make payments in the future. When you borrow money to buy a property, you’ll be required to prove that you have a good history of managing your credit. That is, making good on all your payments. But what exactly is a “good history of managing credit”? What are lenders looking at when they assess your credit report? If you’re new to managing your credit, an easy way to remember the minimum credit requirements for mortgage financing is the 2/2/2 rule. Two active trade lines established over a minimum period of two years, with a minimum limit of two thousand dollars, is what lenders are looking for. A trade line could be a credit card, an instalment loan, a car loan, or a line of credit; basically, anytime a lender extends credit to you. Your repayment history is kept on your credit report and generates a credit score. For a tradeline to be considered active, you must have used it for at least one month and then once every three months. To build a good credit history, both of your tradelines need to be used for at least two years. This history gives the lender confidence that you’ve established good credit habits over a decent length of time. Two thousand dollars is the bare minimum limit required on your trade lines. So if you have a credit card with a $1000 limit and a line of credit with a $2500 limit, you would be okay as your limit would be $3500. If you’re managing your credit well, chances are you will be offered a limit increase. It’s a good idea to take it. Mortgage Lenders want to know that you can handle borrowing money. Now, don’t confuse the limit with the balance. You don’t have to carry a balance on your trade lines for them to be considered active. To build credit, it’s best to use your tradelines but pay them off in full every month in the case of credit cards and make all your loan payments on time. A great way to use your credit is to pay your bills via direct withdrawal from your credit card, then set up a regular transfer from your bank account to pay off the credit card in full every month. Automation becomes your best friend. Just make sure you keep on top of your banking to ensure everything works as it should. Now, you might be thinking, what about my credit score, isn’t that important when talking about building a credit profile to secure a mortgage? Well, your credit score is important, but if you have two tradelines, reporting for two years, with a minimum limit of two thousand dollars, without missing any payments, your credit score will take care of itself, and you should have no worries. With that said, it never hurts to take a look at your credit every once and a while to ensure no errors are reported on your credit bureau. So, if you’re thinking about buying a property in the next couple of years and want to make sure that you have good enough credit to qualify, let’s talk. Connect anytime; it would be a pleasure to work with you and help you to understand better how your credit impacts mortgage qualification.
By Tim Lyon
•
October 28, 2025
If you're buying a home with less than 20% down, you'll need something called an insured mortgage. Many borrowers find this confusing at first, especially since it doesn’t refer to insurance for you, the borrower. That’s why I have put together this straightforward breakdown so you understand what insured mortgages are, why they exist, and how they affect your purchase. What Is an Insured Mortgage? A mortgage must be insured when a borrower makes a down payment of less than 20% on a home purchase. The insurance protects the lender (not the borrower) in case the borrower defaults. The insurance is guaranteed by the federal government. So, why do we have this program? It allows borrowers to buy homes with smaller down payments and higher loan-to-value (LTV) ratios. Higher loan-to-value mortgages are inherently more risky because there is not much cushion if the housing market starts to decline. For example, if someone buys a $500,000 home with only 5% down ($25,000), they’ll need a $475,000 mortgage—this is a 95% LTV . If the market drops and the home’s value falls to $470,000, the mortgage would still be $475,000. If the borrower stopped making payments, the lender could lose money after selling the home and paying costs. That kind of loss, multiplied across thousands of borrowers, could threaten the stability of the entire banking system (as we saw in the U.S. in 2008). The mortgage insurance system is designed to prevent that scenario by spreading risk and keeping lenders protected. How Does the Insurance Work? You, the borrower, pay the insurance premium. It's typically added directly to your mortgage balance rather than paid upfront. The cost depends on your down payment size and amortization. Example: Purchase price: $500,000 Down payment: $25,000 (5%) Mortgage amount: $475,000 Insurance premium: 4.2% = $19,950 Total new mortgage: $494,950 The insurance does add cost, but insured mortgages usually offer slightly lower interest rates because the lender's risk is minimal. The rate savings don't fully offset the premium, but they help. The Insurer’s Role For insured mortgages, the insurer’s approval is the most important part of the process. If the insurer won’t approve the file, no lender can. Once the insurer signs off, we can typically find a lender to fund the loan. Canada has three mortgage insurers: CMHC (public) Sagen (private) Canada Guaranty (private) All of the insurers are backed by government guarantees and have to follow similar rules, but each has a few unique programs. Lenders usually choose the insurer, though I sometimes work with them to send a file to a specific insurer if it benefits the borrower. Qualification Rules Because insured mortgages are government-backed, the rules are strict: Debt ratios: 39% of your income can go toward your stress-tested mortgage payment, property taxes, heat, and half of condo fees 44% of your income can go toward the above plus your other debts Down payment: 5% on the first $500,000, 10% on the remainder Maximum purchase price: $1.5 million Amortization: Maximum of 25 years for most buyers; up to 30 years for first-time buyers who qualify under the new federal program Unlike with an uninsured mortgage, where lenders may have some flexibility if your income ratios are slightly above the limits, there is no discretion on an insured mortgage. If your ratios exceed the limits even a little bit, the insurer will decline the application. The Approval Process The process is similar to an uninsured mortgage, with one extra step: We submit your mortgage application to the lender of choice They do their initial review If that looks good, they package it up and send it to the insurer Once the insurer has reviewed and approved it, the file comes back to the lender for final review and approval Common Misunderstandings About Insured Mortgages Many borrowers are surprised to learn the following facts about insured mortgages: You do not need to be a first-time homebuyer to buy with less than 20% down You cannot buy an investment property with less than 20% down You can buy a second home with less than 20% down You cannot refinance an insured mortgage and keep the insurance. If you have an insured mortgage and do refinance, you will lose the insurance. This mostly affects the lender, but it also moves you to uninsured rates. Why Choose an Insured Mortgage? Given the cost and restrictions, why would anyone choose an insured mortgage? The main reason is accessibility . It allows you to buy a home without saving a full 20% down payment, which is increasingly difficult with high home prices and living costs. It can also be a strategic choice. Some buyers prefer to keep more of their savings invested or diversified instead of tying everything up in a down payment. If your investments are earning more than your mortgage costs, keeping that money invested might make financial sense. Real-World Example Let's say you're buying a $600,000 home. Here's how the costs compare between the minimum down payment for an insured mortgage and the minimum down payment for an uninsured mortgage:
By Tim Lyon
•
October 20, 2025
The part of mortgage approval nobody likes but everyone needs
By Tim Lyon
•
October 9, 2025
Credit. The ability of a customer to obtain goods or services before payment, based on the trust that you will make payments in the future. When you borrow money to buy a property, you’ll be required to prove that you have a good history of managing your credit. That is, making good on all your payments. But what exactly is a “good history of managing credit”? What are lenders looking at when they assess your credit report? If you’re new to managing your credit, an easy way to remember the minimum credit requirements for mortgage financing is the 2/2/2 rule. Two active trade lines established over a minimum period of two years, with a minimum limit of two thousand dollars, is what lenders are looking for. A trade line could be a credit card, an instalment loan, a car loan, or a line of credit; basically, anytime a lender extends credit to you. Your repayment history is kept on your credit report and generates a credit score. For a tradeline to be considered active, you must have used it for at least one month and then once every three months. To build a good credit history, both of your tradelines need to be used for at least two years. This history gives the lender confidence that you’ve established good credit habits over a decent length of time. Two thousand dollars is the bare minimum limit required on your trade lines. So if you have a credit card with a $1000 limit and a line of credit with a $2500 limit, you would be okay as your limit would be $3500. If you’re managing your credit well, chances are you will be offered a limit increase. It’s a good idea to take it. Mortgage Lenders want to know that you can handle borrowing money. Now, don’t confuse the limit with the balance. You don’t have to carry a balance on your trade lines for them to be considered active. To build credit, it’s best to use your tradelines but pay them off in full every month in the case of credit cards and make all your loan payments on time. A great way to use your credit is to pay your bills via direct withdrawal from your credit card, then set up a regular transfer from your bank account to pay off the credit card in full every month. Automation becomes your best friend. Just make sure you keep on top of your banking to ensure everything works as it should. Now, you might be thinking, what about my credit score, isn’t that important when talking about building a credit profile to secure a mortgage? Well, your credit score is important, but if you have two tradelines, reporting for two years, with a minimum limit of two thousand dollars, without missing any payments, your credit score will take care of itself, and you should have no worries. With that said, it never hurts to take a look at your credit every once and a while to ensure no errors are reported on your credit bureau. So, if you’re thinking about buying a property in the next couple of years and want to make sure that you have good enough credit to qualify, let’s talk. Connect anytime; it would be a pleasure to work with you and help you to understand better how your credit impacts mortgage qualification.
