Cleared a registered CRA lien with a private mortgage — restored clean title

Once CRA registered a charge, the file fell outside every A-lender's guidelines — a bank can't register a clean mortgage behind an enforceable Crown claim, and for the HST portion CRA's deemed-trust priority can rank ahead of an existing mortgage.

Interest kept compounding daily while the balance sat, and the client 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 directly to CRA. CRA issued a clearance certificate, the lien was discharged and registered as cleared, and the private lender held its charge 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.