Example: clearing a registered CRA lien with a private second mortgage

Once CRA registered a lien, the file fell outside A-lender guidelines: banks generally won't lend while a CRA lien sits on title, and for the HST portion CRA's deemed-trust rights can rank ahead of other creditors.

Interest kept compounding daily while the balance sat, and the borrower had been told, incorrectly, that a lien meant the home was simply at risk with no financing option.

We confirmed the title position with a parcel register and sized a private second mortgage to cover the full CRA payout plus costs, leaving a healthy equity cushion. Because equity was strong, the combined loan-to-value stayed conservative.

At funding, the money flowed from the lawyer's trust account directly to CRA. Once the balance was confirmed paid, CRA released the lien, the discharge was registered, and the private lender's charge sat against clean title.

We set the exit from day one: stay current on filings and remittances, season the file, and refinance back to A-lender pricing once it stabilizes.

The registered CRA lien came off title and enforcement stopped. The private premium is a real, temporary cost — far cheaper than a CRA balance compounding under an enforceable lien — and the plan is to refinance to A-lender pricing once the tax history stabilizes.