Lisa Gordon
DOING THE DEAL:
BC Mortgage Brokers Discuss the Unique Challenges of Funding Urban and Rural Properties
L
ocation, location, location. While it’s been called the first rule of real estate, it’s also a key consideration in a successful mortgage application.
Depending on where a property is located, a mortgage broker might have to do a bit more legwork to build a deal. Usually, that means gathering requested documentation for lenders who have grown increasingly cautious in the wake of a British Columbia real estate boom. In the case of rural properties, for example, lenders may require well-water testing, a septic inspection, an independent appraisal, and even pre-approved home insurance.
While BC mortgage brokers report unique challenges that come with doing business in urban and rural settings, they also say they have many things in common.
Rural View When Jane Wakelyn gets up in the morning, the first thing she hopes is that the Internet is working so she can deal with her email before she begins her 1-hour commute to the office. Wakelyn is a mortgage broker with Dominion Lending Centres Blue Tree Mortgages West in Prince George. With a population of about 75,000, the city is known as the province’s “northern capital.”
When it comes to city homes, zoning is often a concern, as is increased competition for the same properties.
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Every morning, she makes the most of her commute to work by returning calls from the car. A mortgage broker for almost 7 years, Wakelyn is currently a one-woman show working by appointment only. “Timing is everything,” she says. “Maximizing time in the car is important and Bluetooth is a gift.” While about three-quarters of her business is done within Prince George city limits, the remainder of her mortgage files are from many other areas of BC, including Vancouver Island, the Okanagan, and the northern region. Many are rural properties that present a bigger challenge. “The number one challenge is mobile homes on large properties,” says Wakelyn. “Location is a challenge; lenders often want a property to be within 50 kilometres of city limits or in a centre with a minimum population of 5000 . . . or sometimes even 10,000 or more. Also, if a lender must foreclose on a property and it is rural or has livestock of any kind, it is much more difficult to sell or remove the animals.”
No matter where they work in BC, mortgage brokers are grappling with affordability. In a hot housing market, escalating prices make it harder for new buyers to qualify for that first property. Second, recent government changes to mortgage underwriting procedures—commonly known as Guideline B-20—have introduced “stress testing” that makes it even harder for potential buyers to meet funding criteria.
Jane, her husband, and their four horses live on a 400-acre ranch close to Nukko Lake. Wakelyn has made a science of incorporating the rural lifestyle into her business. Her ads feature her on a horse with the slogan, “Let me rein in your mortgage.”
Jane Wakelyn The Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia
Several homes in the area have wood foundations and many properties Volume 27 Number 3 Fall 2018
