Step 2: Get a new mortgage

Easier said than done!

First step is to contact a finance broker because of the bewildering array of mortgages on the market. Far too many for any mere mortal to bother comparing to each other.

Secondly, make sure you are an employee and not self-employed, as I am. I really have been put through every hoop known to man. Ridiculous. Not only did I have to show my last two years' group certificates (income tax) I had to show the last two years of profit and loss statements for the business. Anyone who has a small business knows the last thing you want to do is show a profit. We draw down anything we make. The bank wants to see a profit, so the broker (not me, thank God) had to explain that.

Then somehow the bank found out we have another business and wanted the books for that as well. That one just sits there and doesn't operate, but they still wanted to see the P&L statement. Another thing for the broker to explain to the bank. Both statements were required before the normal reporting period, so I had to get them done a few months early, which was a pain in the bum. Luckily, the accountants were able to do it pretty quickly.

Another catch for me is that my mother owns half of the block, which will be subdivided. I had two options for getting the new mortgage.

1. Wait until the block is subdivided and transfer her name to one of the new blocks and put mine on the other, so we then officially only own one half each, rather half of each new block. I can't finish the subdivision process until the existing house is demolished, so if I waited for this to happen it would delay me by about 8 weeks.

2. Get the mortgage with her name on it (as a current owner) and expidite the process. However, she is 80 years of age, so the bank wouldn't lend me as much as I wanted and the whole idea of subdividing is to get her out of my financial life. This would have been quicker, but only by a few weeks, so I decided to wait until subdivision.

While all of this was happening the interest rates started going up and the amount of money the bank would lend me started going down! What to do? That's when I just bit the bullet and decided that even though it would take a bit longer, I would wait until subdivision. So I now have 'conditional approval' of a new mortgage.

To actually get this new mortgage I have to supply the bank with all sorts of OTHER papers related to the builder. And the list goes on and on and on.

Moral of the story - be an employee!!!!!