The bank sells it. Or you do.

Two endings

Same house. The difference is who runs the sale.

Process one

The lender sells it.

The price is set to recover the loan and the lender’s costs, not to get the most the house could bring.
The lender’s legal and enforcement costs, and its agent’s commission, come off before anything reaches you.
Listing, showings, conditions and closing date are decided by people you have never met.
If it falls short, the difference is still your debt.
Nobody in the room works for you.

Process two

You sell it, before that point.

The market sets the price, through a proper listing priced from real sales.
The costs are commission and your own lawyer. The mortgage is paid out at closing, and that is the end of it.
The timing is yours, inside the window you have.
If it is going to fall short, it is worked out with the lender in advance, not discovered at closing.
What is left after the mortgage and the costs is paid to you, on the day.

The left column is what happens by default. The right column is what happens on purpose.

What’s inside

Ten pages. Both processes, side by side.

Written in plain language by someone who spent close to ten years on the legal side of these files. General information, not a pitch, and not legal advice.

Where you are on the line

Five stages, in order, from “up to date but getting hard” to the lender’s sale. Find yours.

What waiting costs

The number that moves every month, the one that does not, and the point where they cross.

Process one: the lender sells it

How a power of sale typically runs in Ontario, and the six things it costs the owner.

Process two: you sell it first

What changes when the sale is yours, and the one condition on all of it.

What a coordinated sale looks like

Payouts first, lenders spoken to before the sign goes up, offers structured so the sale can close.

The one number both endings depend on

What the house is worth today against what is owing, and how to get it worked out in a day.

Why sooner is better

Every month adds to what you owe, and not to what the house is worth.

A mortgage in default keeps accruing interest on the full balance, and the lender adds its fees and legal costs on top. On a $580,000 mortgage at 6.99%, the interest alone runs to roughly:

One month behind: about $3,400 added
Six months behind: about $20,300 added
Twelve months behind: about $40,500 added; Simple interest, for illustration, before any lender fees, legal costs or tax arrears. Your own figures sit in your mortgage statement.

The house is worth what the market says it is worth that month, and that number does not climb because the balance did. The gap between the two is what gives you choices. It gets smaller every month, and nobody writes to tell you when it closes.

Who put this together

A decade inside the hard files. Now on your side of the table.

I’m Taran Aujla. Before I was a Salesperson, I spent close to ten years as a real estate lawyer in Ontario and closed several hundred transactions, a good share of them the hard kind: power of sale, arrears, estates, time-sensitive closings. I have sat across from the lenders, the lawyers and the family members these files bring. I know where they get stuck, and where the room to move usually is. My job here is simple: find out where you stand, lay out both endings honestly, and if selling first is the right move, run it so you keep as much of your equity and your privacy as your timeline allows.

HomeLife G1 Realty Inc., Brokerage · RECO Reg. No. 6024721 · Serving the GTA, Durham, Hamilton, Kitchener & Waterloo · English, French, Punjabi

The question everyone asks

If I sell, where do I go?

It is the first thing almost everyone asks, and the reason many people never look at a sale at all. Where you go next is part of the plan, not something left until after. The closing date is set around your move, not the other way round.

If your credit has taken a hit, renting is usually the next step, and it is more within reach than it feels. Landlords look at more than a credit score: income, references, and whether the application is complete and credible. A sale that pays out the mortgage, with money in hand, changes how that application reads.

Finding rentals that fit your budget and area, timed to your closing date
Putting together a complete application: ID, income, employment letter, references, proof of funds, and an honest note where credit needs one
Lining up the closing and the move-in, so there is no gap

Approval is the landlord’s decision; a strong, complete application gives you the best chance.

Is this for you?

This guide was written for you if you’re...

Up to date, but the payments are getting hard to carry
Behind on the mortgage, or worried you soon will be
Holding a notice from the lender and unsure what it starts
Carrying a private or second mortgage that keeps renewing on worse terms
Thinking about selling, but wanting to protect your equity and your privacy

If any of these sound familiar, the guide was written with you in mind.

Common questions

Straight answers.

If I sell, where do I go? My credit is not great.

That is the first question most people ask. Usually the answer is renting, and it is more within reach than it feels. I help line up the next place, timed to your closing, and put together a complete application that shows a landlord income, references and money in hand from the sale. Approval is the landlord’s decision, but a strong application gives you the best chance.

What does this cost?

Nothing. It is how I meet people who may need an agent later, and that is the whole arrangement.

Do I have to sell, or list with you?

No. The guide shows both endings so you can see them clearly. If a sale on your own terms is the right move, I can run it. If your file has a better path, I will say so.

Is this confidential?

Yes. Your situation stays private, from the first email to whatever you decide. Nothing in a listing ever says why a home is for sale.

I’ve already received a notice from my lender. Is it too late?

Often not. The notice starts a window, and many people sell on their own terms inside it. The sooner the numbers are known, the more of that window is useful.

Are you giving legal or mortgage advice?

No. This is general information about how these sales typically run. Where a step turns on your own mortgage terms, your lawyer confirms it, and I keep your lawyer in the loop throughout a sale.