What are we going to do with all the multiple offers this year?

Joel Olson • January 26, 2022

(*What's your preference? Listen to the podcast above or read the blog post below)

So what is 2022 going to look like and how do we handle multiple offers differently?

So here we go. 2022 What's this year going to look like on the market?


Is it going to be another year full of multiple offers escalating house prices and buyers being frustrated not being able to crack into the market? 


Is it going to be another year where we see limited inventory as a result of a lack of supply? 


Where there isn't really that much to buy in the first place? 


I mean, there's lots of predictions. 


We all have our own opinions, but I suppose only time will tell. 


All we know is what it is today. 


And I can tell you a few things that we've learned that we are doing differently this year. 


First, we are expecting there are going to be a lot of situations with multiple offers in particular, where people are meant to go firm, at least until this cooling off period is put into place by the government.


That means we have to be a lot more diligent about making sure our clients are ready to put in an unconditional offer. 


A lot of brokers are scared to guarantee something like this. 


A lot of brokers are nervous to give clients the go ahead on unconditional offers. 


However, there's some better ways than what people have done. 


The key here is to set up what's called Plan B financing. 


It means that if, for some reason, the mortgage insurer doesn't approve you, if for some reason, you don't get approved by that lender that we’re 99.9% sure will approve you… what are we going to do? 


That may include some type of approval with a B lender, or a higher interest rate or attaching a cosigner or adding security for the property. 


All these things are things that we can put in place as a B plan so a client can go comfortably into an unusual offer, knowing that they do have at least guaranteed financing in some form. 


This is a key difference to what people are doing in the marketplace. 


You would not believe the amount of frightened phone calls we get from people that have firm offers that really didn't have financing organized in the first place. 


It's safe to assume that, even though people are telling you they think they'll be okay. 


Really, it's a scramble to the end making for a very, very stressful situation for our clients. 


So our plan and our process includes for everyone who's offered, to put a “B” financing plan in place. 


This is an important distinction and will make you look better to your clients and have a less stressful situation. 


It also means that the client can comfortably offer in a situation not just unconditional, but I think to go above asking they can do so comfortably with us talking through that. 


The second part that we might add to that would be to do an inexpensive pre-appraisal on a property through an actual appraisal.

 
Now we all know what property a should sell for and won't sell for - we will have our comparables, but why don't we have something that is legitimate from an appraiser? 


That’s something we can rely on… that means that we could actually go a little bit higher on that property. 


There's a way to do a pre-appraisal that can give some comfort around those values and comfort around going above asking (price). 


Now, of course, if this cooling off period comes into play, all bets are off.


It means that we will have a week to sort out financing.

 
This means our mortgage approval assurance plan we've talked about many times, which means our pre- approval is going to come with a $5,000 guarantee to the seller is going to make all the difference. 


If you don't know about that and want to schedule a time so you can have your clients take advantage of having $5,000 against the seller, please do schedule a call with me. 


Lastly, time kills all deals. 


We've heard loud and clear that a big issue with offers is that people do not have enough time to get the offer done. 


Many banks, many brokers, many lenders are asking for a full one week for some locations and finding that those offers rarely even pique the interest of most sellers. 


Now of course, people want to have adequate time, but what if there was a way to get the client extra pre- approved? 


I'm talking about making sure we have the identification.


Making sure we have the voided check, making sure we have every bank statement. 


What if there was a way for us to make that pre-approval work so that they can have a one day approval? 


This is possible for a limited amount of realtors and a limited amount of clients on an ongoing basis. 


We can offer approvals that are firm in one day.  If you'd like to know how to take advantage of this and the strategy this uses, please schedule a time with me because we can do an approval in one day. 


That's right. 


Make an offer 24 hours later and remove the subjects - this is huge in this market. 


Obviously these are just some of the many strategies we do and many are catered to your specific marketing needs. 


We would love to have a chance to go through anything we can help you with this year. 


It's going to be a busy one. 


Let's be prepared!

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Joel Olson
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Mortgages Aren’t One-Size-Fits-All

By Joel Olson • October 7, 2025
Why the Cheapest Mortgage Isn’t Always the Smartest Move Some things are fine to buy on the cheap. Generic cereal? Sure. Basic airline seat? No problem. A car with roll-down windows? If it gets you where you're going, great. But when it comes to choosing a mortgage? That’s not the time to cut corners. A “no-frills” mortgage might sound appealing with its rock-bottom interest rate, but what’s stripped away to get you that rate can end up costing you far more in the long run. These mortgages often come with severe limitations—restrictions that could hit your wallet hard if life throws you a curveball. Let’s break it down. A typical no-frills mortgage might offer a slightly lower interest rate—maybe 0.10% to 0.20% less. That could save you a few hundred dollars over a few years. But that small upfront saving comes at the cost of flexibility: Breaking your mortgage early? Expect a massive penalty. Want to make extra payments? Often not allowed—or severely restricted. Need to move and take your mortgage with you? Not likely. Thinking about refinancing? Good luck doing that without a financial hit. Most people don’t plan on breaking their mortgage early—but roughly two-thirds of Canadians do, often due to job changes, separations, relocations, or expanding families. That’s why flexibility matters. So why do lenders even offer no-frills mortgages? Because they know the stats. And they know many borrowers chase the lowest rate without asking what’s behind it. Some banks count on that. Their job is to maximize profits. Ours? To help you make an informed, strategic choice. As independent mortgage professionals, we work for you—not a single lender. That means we can compare multiple products from various financial institutions to find the one that actually suits your goals and protects your long-term financial health. Bottom line: Don’t let a shiny low rate distract you from what really matters. A mortgage should fit your life—not the other way around. Have questions? Want to look at your options? I’d be happy to help. Let’s chat.
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Fixed-Rate or Variable-Rate Mortgage?

By Joel Olson • September 23, 2025
If you're looking to buy a new property, refinance, or renew an existing mortgage, chances are, you're considering either a fixed or variable rate mortgage. Figuring out which one is the best is entirely up to you! So here's some information to help you along the way. Firstly, let's talk about the fixed-rate mortgage as this is most common and most heavily endorsed by the banks. With a fixed-rate mortgage, your interest rate is "fixed" for a certain term, anywhere from 6 months to 10 years, with the typical term being five years. If market rates fluctuate anytime after you sign on the dotted line, your mortgage rate won't change. You're a rock; your rate is set in stone. Typically a fixed-rate mortgage has a higher rate than a variable. Alternatively, a variable rate is not set in stone; instead, it fluctuates with the market. The variable rate is a component (either plus or minus) to the prime rate. So if the prime rate (set by the government and banks) is 2.45% and the current variable rate is Prime minus .45%, your effective rate would be 2%. If three months after you sign your mortgage documents, the prime rate goes up by .25%, your rate would then move to 2.25%. Typically, variable rates come with a five-year term, although some lenders allow you to go with a shorter term. At first glance, the fixed-rate mortgage seems to be the safe bet, while the variable-rate mortgage appears to be the wild card. However, this might not be the case. Here's the problem, what this doesn't account for is the fact that a fixed-rate mortgage and a variable-rate mortgage have two very different ways of calculating the penalty should you need to break your mortgage. If you decide to break your variable rate mortgage, regardless of how much you have left on your term, you will end up owing three months interest, which works out to roughly two to two and a half payments. Easy to calculate and not that bad. With a fixed-rate mortgage, you will pay the greater of either three months interest or what is called an interest rate differential (IRD) penalty. As every lender calculates their IRD penalty differently, and that calculation is based on market fluctuations, the contract rate at the time you signed your mortgage, the discount they provided you at that time, and the remaining time left on your term, there is no way to guess what that penalty will be. However, with that said, if you end up paying an IRD, it won't be pleasant. If you've ever heard horror stories of banks charging outrageous penalties to break a mortgage, this is an interest rate differential. It's not uncommon to see penalties of 10x the amount for a fixed-rate mortgage compared to a variable-rate mortgage or up to 4.5% of the outstanding mortgage balance. So here's a simple comparison. A fixed-rate mortgage has a higher initial payment than a variable-rate mortgage but remains stable throughout your term. The penalty for breaking a fixed-rate mortgage is unpredictable and can be upwards of 4.5% of the outstanding mortgage balance. A variable-rate mortgage has a lower initial payment than a fixed-rate mortgage but fluctuates with prime throughout your term. The penalty for breaking a variable-rate mortgage is predictable at 3 months interest which equals roughly two and a half payments. The goal of any mortgage should be to pay the least amount of money back to the lender. This is called lowering your overall cost of borrowing. While a fixed-rate mortgage provides you with a more stable payment, the variable rate does a better job of accommodating when "life happens." If you’ve got questions, connect anytime. It would be a pleasure to work through the options together.