Judgment & Lien Mortgage
in Canada —
Clear Your Title.

Not from an A-lender — banks generally require clean title. But alt-A and private lenders will lend against your equity specifically to pay that judgment out. The mortgage funds, your lawyer pays the creditor, the writ or lien is discharged, and you end up with a clean title and one consolidated payment. Equity is the key — if there’s room in the home, there are often options, subject to lender, property and file review.

A judgment is a court order saying you owe money. A writ of seizure and sale is the enforcement tool a creditor registers against your property after winning a judgment — it can lead to a forced sale. A lien is a registered claim on a specific asset (a construction lien from an unpaid contractor, for example). All three cloud your title and block A-lender financing, and all three can usually be cleared with an equity refinance — see the comparison table on this page.

Generally we want the new mortgage (existing balance + payout + costs) to stay under about 80% of the property value for alt-A, or 65–75% for private. Example: a $700k home with a $400k first mortgage has roughly $125k (75% private) to $160k (80% alt-A) of room before costs — often enough to clear most judgments and consolidate other debt at the same time. Ranges are illustrative and vary by file.

Private files can often fund within days once we have an appraisal and the lawyer is instructed. If a sheriff’s sale is scheduled, tell us the date immediately — the more runway you give us, the cheaper the solution and the more lender options you have. No honest broker can promise a specific timeline sight-unseen; the outcome depends on your equity, the property and the time remaining.

Paying it changes the status to ‘satisfied,’ which lenders view far more favourably, but the record itself usually remains on your bureau for six years (TransUnion keeps it seven years in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and Quebec, and ten in Prince Edward Island). What matters to lenders is that it’s paid and the title is clean — combined with re-established credit, that’s what reopens A-lender pricing over 12–24 months.

Yes — that’s often the smartest move. If you have CRA arrears, credit-card balances, or a second judgment, we can consolidate everything into one payout so you exit with a single manageable payment instead of a stack of creditors. We model the blended cost so you can see the real number.

It depends on your first mortgage. If you have a low existing rate you don’t want to break, or a penalty to break it, a second mortgage that leaves the first in place is often cheaper. If your first is up for renewal or the rate isn’t worth keeping, a full refinance can be cleaner. We model both and pick the lower total cost.

A preserved and perfected construction lien becomes a court action that can end in a sale; the claimant must meet strict deadlines (60 days to register, 90 more to start the action) or the lien expires. We treat these as urgent. The refinance pays the lien claimant out or, where there’s a genuine dispute, funds you to pay the full amount claimed, plus security for costs (generally 25% of the claim, up to $250,000), into court to vacate the lien while the dispute continues, so your project and your title can move forward.

Light compared with a bank file: government photo ID, your existing mortgage statement, the judgment/writ/lien details (amount and creditor), a recent appraisal (or we order one), and proof of income where the lender requires it. Because qualifying is equity-first, the file moves on the property and the payout more than on paperwork.

Usually it helps — both owners’ equity supports the file. Both of you will sign, and the lawyer ensures the payout and new mortgage are registered correctly against the jointly held title. If only one spouse has the judgment, the writ binds the debtor-spouse’s interest, but a lender will still want it paid out of the refinance so the whole title is clean.

Alt-A second mortgages run roughly +100–200 bps over A-lender pricing; private sits materially higher, plus a lender and broker fee. Figures are illustrative and vary by file. It sounds steep, but it’s usually cheaper than the legal costs, post-judgment interest, and the outcome of a forced sale — and it’s temporary, with the goal of refinancing back to A-pricing (in our experience, often 12–24 months, subject to lender criteria).

Yes — that’s the plan from day one. Once title is clean, the paid judgment reports as satisfied (it stays on file for 6–7 years in Ontario, but satisfied status is what lenders weigh), and you re-establish credit, an A-lender refinance becomes possible (tested at the stress test, to 80% LTV). We set the refinance trigger at funding and monitor the file so you move the moment you qualify.

Confidential — shared only with the lender, your lawyer and the creditor being paid. Judgments and writs themselves are public court records, but your file and conversations with us are not shared beyond those parties. We handle these files regularly — there is no judgment from us, only a plan to get the judgment off your title.