These are anonymized case studies from actual files closed by Paul Hunjan. No stock photos, no invented scenarios — real situations, real rates, real outcomes.
A Brampton homeowner with a $2.1M property came to us in a crisis. They were behind on both their first and second mortgage payments, had active CRA judgments on title, minimal income documentation, and bruised credit from the financial strain. Power of sale proceedings were imminent. Traditional lenders — every A and B lender — had already turned them away.
The file had every red flag a lender fears: arrears on multiple mortgages simultaneously, a CRA claim with priority on title, non-confirmable income, and a credit score that reflected months of financial stress. Most brokers would have stopped making calls after the first few rejections.
Structured a new private first mortgage using the property's substantial equity as the lending anchor. Negotiated a partial prepaid structure so the client would not be burdened by monthly payment pressure during the recovery period. The mortgage paid out the existing first, the second, all outstanding debts, and retired the CRA judgment in full — clearing the title entirely.
From there, we built a 12-month exit strategy: a clear roadmap to re-establish income documentation, address the credit profile, and refinance into conventional financing at the end of the term.
A self-employed business owner in Bowmanville came to us at one of the most stressful points possible: CRA had frozen their bank accounts due to outstanding tax arrears, their business was in a difficult period, and they were simultaneously carrying a first mortgage, a second mortgage, consumer debts, and needed funds for critical home renovations and business working capital. No conventional lender would touch this file.
Frozen bank accounts signal to lenders that the government has already stepped in — it is one of the hardest situations to present to any institutional lender. Layered on top: bruised credit, an underperforming business, multiple creditors, and a renovation need that couldn't wait. The client needed a lender who understood that the equity in their home was real, even if the rest of the file wasn't clean.
Structured a private first mortgage on the $730K Bowmanville property, fully prepaid for 12 months. The mortgage funds paid out the existing first mortgage, the second mortgage, all consumer debts, and settled the CRA arrears in full — unfreezing the bank accounts. Additional funds were advanced for the home renovations and business capital injection the client needed to stabilize operations.
The fully prepaid structure meant zero monthly payment obligation for 12 months — giving the client a genuine runway to fix the business, repair the credit profile, and execute an exit to B-lender or conventional financing at the end of the term.
A successful electrician operating in Mississauga had been renting commercial space for years and decided it was time to own their operational base. The target was an $850,000 warehouse — purpose-suited for their trade business with the space and layout needed to scale operations. The goal: buy the building outright without tying up the business capital they'd worked years to accumulate.
Owner-occupied commercial real estate has a lending pathway that many business owners don't know exists: when the business occupies the property and the financials support it, certain credit unions in Ontario will finance at 100% of the purchase price. The key qualifying factors are strong business financials, a solid personal credit profile, sufficient net worth, and a clear business case for occupying the space.
This client had all four. The business had clean, verifiable financials. Personal credit was strong. Net worth was well-documented. And the business purpose — housing electrical operations in a strategically located Mississauga warehouse — was clear and commercially sound.
Sourced and structured 100% financing through a credit union lender — covering the full $850,000 purchase price with no down payment required. In the same transaction, we negotiated a $75,000 operating line of credit for the business. The client walked out of closing owning an $850K asset outright, with their business capital intact and a $75K working capital facility in hand.
A client had purchased a new build and received a letter from the builder: close within one week or face financial penalties. The problem — the property's appraised value came in below the purchase price, creating a funding gap. The client had no liquid funds to cover the shortfall. With the clock running and builder fines looming, standard lenders had no pathway to solve this in time.
A lenders and B lenders don't lend above appraised value — full stop. The gap between purchase price and appraised value had to be covered somehow, and the client had a week to do it. Most brokers would have told the client to try to renegotiate with the builder or find cash from family. Neither was viable here.
The client had substantial equity sitting in their principal residence. The solution was cross-collateralization: securing the private mortgage against both the new build and the principal residence simultaneously. By using the combined equity of both properties as security, the private lender had sufficient coverage to fund the full purchase — including the shortfall — without needing the client to produce a single dollar in extra cash.
The deal was structured, approved, and closed in 4 days. Builder fines: zero. Property: secured.
An elderly couple on a fixed pension was barely keeping up with their financial obligations. Their monthly income — primarily government pension — was being consumed by existing financial commitments, leaving almost nothing for the things that matter in retirement: travel, family, quality of life. They owned their home outright but hadn't considered it a financial resource. They came in stressed, worn down, and feeling stuck.
A reverse mortgage is not a product you rush someone into. For this couple, the first conversation wasn't about rates or amounts — it was about understanding their situation completely. Over the course of a week, we walked through exactly how a reverse mortgage works: how interest compounds, how it affects the estate, what happens if one spouse passes, what the exit options are, and under what circumstances it makes sense versus doesn't.
We then arranged for them to sit with an independent lawyer — separate from us, separate from the lender — so a legal professional could explain the product in full, answer their questions with no sales agenda, and ensure they were making a fully informed decision. This is called Independent Legal Advice (ILA) and while it is required by law for reverse mortgages in Canada, we went beyond the minimum: we facilitated the meeting and encouraged every question to be asked.
Only once both the clients and their lawyer were fully comfortable did the application proceed.
A single woman in her 60s living in Brampton came to us in serious trouble. She was behind on both a first and second private mortgage, had no active employment income, and her government pension had not yet commenced. On paper, based on comparable sales in the area, the file looked workable — enough equity to justify a new private mortgage to consolidate and clear the arrears.
Then the appraisal came back.
The property was a hoarding home. The appraiser's report was blunt: significant negative commentary on the condition of the property, material uncertainty around the extent of any underlying damage, and an appraised value that came in well below the comparable-based estimate. Private lenders live and die by their appraisals — and this one was a red flag document.
One by one, private lenders reviewed the file and passed. The appraisal comments gave them an easy out, and most took it. The prevailing view in the private lending market was simple: a hoarding home is an unknown risk. You don't know what's behind the walls, under the floors, or in the structure until you're in it. Fair reasoning. Several lenders declined for exactly that reason.
The file sat. Other brokers might have stopped making calls at this point. We didn't.
The strategy was persistence combined with a precise lender match. Not every private lender has the same risk appetite — the key was finding one whose underwriters understood distressed properties, who could look past the appraisal language, and who would assess the deal on the fundamental question: is there enough equity to protect the lender even in a worst-case scenario? The answer, when framed correctly, was yes.
We secured a fully prepaid private first mortgage at 5.49%. The mortgage paid out the existing first and second in full, cleared the arrears, and required no monthly payments — giving the client breathing room while her pension situation resolved.
All case studies represent anonymized real transactions. Property details and financial figures may be approximate. Rates shown are the rates achieved on the specific closed files — OAC, not guaranteed for future transactions. Paul Hunjan is a licensed Mortgage Broker (#M09001187) under MA Mortgage Architects #12728, FSRA regulated. Not a lender.