I've been through 6 mortgage processes over the last 12 years, and have spoke with a few mortgage brokers during the process and there are some good things and bad things about them. I don't want to bash mortgage brokers, but some a just horribly shady... Any CP mortgage broker excluded of course
I recently obtained a mortgage on another property, albeit tiny, but was crazy hard to obtain compared to anything I've done in the past. Credit history and debt service ratio not being an issue, I would have thought it would be way easier then it was. Granted this was for a second property so that may have thrown up flags in the current enviroment. I was turned down by a conventional bank, had a mortgage broker offer me a mortgage that I turned down, went to another conventional lender and got excatly what I wanted.
Whatever way you decide to do it, sit down and figure out your monthly debts and income. Get a copy of your credit report. Write down your employment history, and current employment status. Know what the current intrest rates and mortgage options at "conventional" institutions are. Learn about Terms, Down payments, High/Low ratio mortgages and the fees involved with each. Find our what your Debt service ratio is. Don't think you have to take a mortgage cause you were "lucky" enough to get one, if you don't like the deal either don't do it or find another deal.
It's always best to apply when you have been working for a while previous, and can show steady income in the past few months. Its better to apply while you are working, then when you are NOT. It's better to apply BEFORE you stop working then just after you start...