I've now finalized the loan and here's what I've learned - some of which might be interesting to people.
- The loan person explained that RRSP loans/lines of credit are 'easier' to get during the rrsp season. This shows how silly lending is. Just one example, you'll be surprised how easy 'high' end credit cards are to get when they first come out - banks don't want a product that nobody can qualify for. Case in point - when RBC introduced its new Infinite Visa, the minimum limit was 10K - I checked the website recently and its now 5K - obviously they figured too many of us Canadians make too little money to qualify!
- Anyway, back to my issue. So the loan is easier to get during rrsp season. The loan interest rate is less if you borrow/invest in the same institution.
- Even if one's RRSP can't be used as collateral, your investment is treated as an asset, which offsets your liabilities and helps you qualify.
In the end, it seems that part of everything is luck, the other part is a bank's need to lend.