Alberta Mortgage FAQ 500+ Straight Answers
Every answer written by a broker with 25+ years in the business - not a marketing department. Twenty-five categories, updated continuously, covering everything from your first pre-approval to the questions nobody wants to ask.
Updated August 2026 · 25 categories · 500+ questions answeredMost Asked Right Now
- My renewal payment is jumping - what are my options?
- Fixed or variable in today's market?
- Can I switch lenders at renewal without re-passing the stress test?
- How does the up-to-$50,000 GST rebate on new builds work?
- Can I stack the FHSA, the Home Buyers' Plan and my TFSA?
- Self-employed - what do lenders actually count as my income?
- We are separating - who keeps the house?
- What happens to a mortgage when someone dies?
Rates, the Bank of Canada & Market Timing
Fixed vs variable, how rates are actually set, rate holds, and why waiting usually loses. Zero stale rate numbers - by design.
26 answersRenewals & Penalties
Payment shock, the loyalty tax, switching lenders, IRD penalty math, and the 120-day playbook.
25 answersRefinance & Debt Consolidation
HELOC vs refinance, the 80% rule, clearing high-interest debt, and when breaking your mortgage pays.
25 answersFirst-Time Buyers & Programs
FHSA, Home Buyers' Plan, the GST rebate, down payment rules, and the whole roadmap to keys.
25 answersPre-Approval & Qualifying
The stress test, GDS and TDS ratios, income verification, and what a real pre-approval requires.
22 answersMortgage Types & Payments
Fixed vs variable, open vs closed, collateral charges, amortization, and payment strategies.
21 answersDown Payment & Closing Costs
Minimum down payments, gift rules, the 1.5% buffer, and Alberta's no-land-transfer-tax advantage.
20 answersInsurance & Protection
Mortgage life insurance, portable vs bank coverage, hail and flood, title insurance and title fraud.
17 answersKeeping Your Home as a Rental
Qualify for both mortgages, the refinance-first sequence, CRA change-in-use rules, and landlord reality.
17 answersClosing Costs, Title Insurance & the RPR
What an RPR is, when title insurance replaces it, adjustments, and the money timeline to closing day.
20 answersSelf-Employed & Special Income
Two-year rules, write-off trade-offs, add-backs, and the lenders built for business-for-self files.
17 answersBad Credit & Alternative Lending
B lenders, consumer proposals, collections, and the honest road back to A-lending.
17 answersRental & Investment Property
Rental income qualifying, the 20% rule, cash-flow math, and building a portfolio in Alberta.
22 answersProperty Types, Rural & Construction
Acreages, wells and septic, condos, manufactured homes, and what lenders think of each.
17 answersReverse Mortgages (55+)
How they actually work, qualifying, costs, inheritance impact, and the honest alternatives.
20 answersSeniors & Aging in Place (55+)
Qualifying on pension income, helping kids buy, care transitions, and keeping the home.
25 answersDivorce & Separation
The 95% spousal buyout, who pays what, protecting your credit, and the first three moves.
25 answersYoung Adults (18-25)
Building credit from zero, the FHSA stack, co-signers, house-hacking, and the 3-year plan.
25 answersReal-Life Situations & Edge Cases
Family deals, POA mortgages, inherited homes, crypto down payments, foreclosures and title fraud.
20 answersChoosing a Broker & the Alberta Market
Broker vs bank, who pays the broker, how to verify a licence, and what to ask before you hire.
20 answersDeath, Incapacity & Family Emergencies
What happens to the mortgage when life takes the turn nobody plans for - and how to plan anyway.
17 answersCo-Ownership, Family & Business Partners
Joint tenants vs tenants in common, buyout refinances, and the exits to plan before you buy together.
17 answersIncome Changes & Life Events
Maternity leave, job loss, illness, windfalls and every income pivot a mortgage has to survive.
27 answersTax Documents & Government Accounts
CRA My Account, your NOA, tax debt, liens, and the folder that makes approvals fast.
17 answersNew Home Warranty
Alberta's 1-2-5-10 coverage, claims that get paid, builder bankruptcy protection, and why lenders care.
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Call or Text 403-703-6847 Start Your ApplicationShawn Selanders is a RECA-licensed mortgage broker with Mortgage Architects, serving Calgary, Okotoks, High River and Southern Alberta since 1999. The answers across this FAQ are general information reflecting rules and programs at the time of writing - not legal, tax, insurance or financial advice about your situation. Each category page carries its own detailed disclosures, and the personal version of every answer is one phone call away.