With No Current Employment Income, How Did a Couple Refinance a $1.3M Family Loan with a Bank?

Last November, the clients borrowed approximately $1.3 million from a relative to complete the purchase of a property. The loan was registered against the property’s title. It was intended as a short-term arrangement: once their offshore funds were organized, the clients planned to repay the relative promptly.

Circumstances then changed. Early this year, the husband left his previous job, leaving neither spouse with stable employment income. At the same time, the relative developed an immediate need for the funds and asked for the $1.3 million to be repaid.

The property was already rented and generating income, but rent alone was not enough to support bank financing of that size. The property was also registered solely in the husband’s name, and he currently had no employment income. Under a conventional income-based review, moving the family loan to a bank was difficult.

The clients then approached Guaranti Group. After reviewing the original purchase and the household’s full financial position, the team identified an important distinction: the clients had not borrowed from their relative because they lacked assets. Most of their funds were held offshore and could not be brought into Canada in time for the purchase, so the family loan had served as temporary completion financing.

That distinction became the key to restructuring the file. The team organized the clients’ Canadian property, rental income, offshore assets and available funds, then compared lending policies for high-net-worth borrowers. A bank whose program better fit the clients’ circumstances was identified. Subject to its documentation and eligibility requirements, the bank could consider the clients’ offshore assets through a high-net-worth review rather than relying only on current Canadian employment income.

Once the approach was confirmed, Guaranti helped organize the supporting asset and source-of-funds documents and restructured the mortgage application. The clients ultimately converted the loan registered on title into bank financing, repaid their relative and completed a broader adjustment of the household’s financing structure.

This case shows that an absence of current Canadian employment income does not necessarily mean private financing must remain the only path. For clients with a strong asset base, the essential work is to document global assets, sources of funds and the actual borrowing need, then identify a lending policy suited to those circumstances.

The clients’ financial strength had not changed. What changed was how the financing was assessed and structured. When one bank path did not fit, Guaranti helped the clients explore other suitable possibilities.