Which page should I start with if I own now and am buying next?

Start with buying your next home. The order of operations — selling, bridging if the closing dates do not line up, and porting your existing mortgage — is what changes, not the qualification arithmetic. Bring your current mortgage statement to the first call so the penalty and porting terms can be checked.

My town is not listed. Does that mean you cannot help?

No. Riley is licensed for all of Nova Scotia and works remotely across the province. The town pages exist only where there is something specific and true to say about that market — its deed transfer tax rate, its housing stock, its regional prices. Everywhere else is covered by the region page it sits in.

Do I have to pick a situation to get help?

No. A 15-minute call sorts most of this out faster than a form does, particularly if your situation spans two of these — self-employed and buying a first home, for example. Call (902) 298-0218 or book a time.

Home › Where to start

Where to start

Pick the one that sounds like you

Every starting point below goes to a page that answers it with Nova Scotia figures, sourced and dated.

Where should I start if I'm not sure what kind of mortgage I need?

Start with what's driving the move: buying, renewing, refinancing, or an income situation a bank struggles with. Each of the seven below goes to a page with the Nova Scotia arithmetic worked out. If two of them describe you, a 15-minute call sorts it faster than any form.

Answered by Riley Oickle, Associate Mortgage Broker, NS licence 3001134 · Verified 2026-09-16

By situation

Buying my first home — you've never owned, and you want to know which of the two Nova Scotia programs you actually qualify for.
Buying my next home — you're moving, and the sale and the purchase have to line up.
Renewing — your term ends soon and the bank has sent you a renewal letter to sign.
Refinancing / HELOC — you have equity and a reason to use it — debt at a higher rate, a renovation, a second property.
Self-employed — your income is real but your tax return understates it, which is the whole problem.
Investment property (1–4 units) — you're buying to rent, and the down payment and rental-income rules are different.
New to Canada / relocating — you have income but little or no Canadian credit history yet.

By town

Truro — Colchester County, Northern Nova Scotia
Yarmouth — Yarmouth County, Yarmouth region
New Glasgow — Pictou County, Highland Region
Kentville — Kings County, Annapolis Valley
Sydney — Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Cape Breton
Halifax — Halifax Regional Municipality, Halifax-Dartmouth
Dartmouth — Halifax Regional Municipality, Halifax-Dartmouth
Bedford — Halifax Regional Municipality, Halifax-Dartmouth
Sackville — Halifax Regional Municipality, Halifax-Dartmouth
Bridgewater — Lunenburg County, South Shore
Amherst — Cumberland County, Northern Nova Scotia

Somewhere else in Nova Scotia

Riley is licensed province-wide and works remotely. If your community doesn't have a page of its own, its region does:

Ready when you are.

Talk it through

Fifteen minutes on the phone. What you'd qualify for, what closing costs, and whether a broker or your own bank is the better route for your file.

Start the application

If you already know what you need, go straight to the application.

What you'll need

Photo ID and your current address
Two most recent pay stubs, or two years of returns if self-employed
Where the down payment is coming from
The property address, if you have one yet

Start the application

Not ready? Get the Nova Scotia documents checklist — it's the same list either route starts with.