Knowing which lender says yes — that's the whole job.

Every lender writes its own guidelines, and the difference between them usually comes down to knowing which one to send your file to. Unusual employment, self-employed income, a tight closing date — there's almost always a program built for it. My job is knowing where it lives.

I came into this straight out of a Civil Engineering degree, and I work alongside a team carrying more than 30 years of combined mortgage experience. Helping someone into the home they wanted — or untangling a file that looked like it wouldn't come together — is still my favourite part of the job.

How I work

I'm not tied to one bank. I shop more than 50 lenders — the big banks, BC credit unions, and monoline lenders you can only reach through a broker — so your file goes to the institution whose written policy actually fits your situation, rather than you reshaping your situation to fit one institution's rules.

The other half of the job is communication. From the day you reach out to the day you close, you'll know exactly where your file stands without having to chase me for it. And I'm still here afterwards, whenever a question comes up. On conventional mortgages there's no cost to you for any of this.

What I spend most of my time on

• Self-employed and business-for-self files, where the tax return doesn't tell the whole story
• Renewals, where knowing the whole market is worth more than a single offer in the mail
• First-time buyers who want the actual numbers before they start looking
• Refinances and debt consolidation, where the penalty math needs running properly first

Licensing and accountability

Mortgage brokering in British Columbia is regulated by the BC Financial Services Authority. I'm registered as a submortgage broker under my legal name, Udaibir Singh Kahlon, with DLC Bluetree Mortgages West. You can verify any BC mortgage broker's registration on the BCFSA public registry, and I'd encourage you to — for me or for anyone else you're considering.