Bernadette Laxamana: Building Dreams, One Home at a Time

By Celine Gabriel

Focused, driven, and building dreams—one home at a time.

For many Filipinos who grew up with limited means, owning a home can feel like an impossible dream. But for Bernadette Laxamana, who was raised without privilege in the Philippines, her story proves that dreams don’t stop at borders.

You can sense how deeply this journey means to her when she recalls visiting relatives’ homes as a child. “You know that feeling when you’re a visitor in someone’s house, knowing that we didn’t have one to call our own? I felt so small.”

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Today, Bernadette has more than achieved that dream. Not only does she own her own home (in fact, several), she is also the President and CEO of Karista Mortgage, a two-time recipient of the CMA Mortgage Broker of the Year Award (2017 and 2021). She has been recognized as a Woman of Influence, Top Producer, and Mentor of the Year — accolades that reflect not only her professional excellence but also her commitment to uplifting others in the industry.

Bernadette credits much of her success to the Filipino community, sharing that about 90% of her business comes from referrals — a testament to the trust, loyalty, and genuine relationships she has built over the years.

Bernadette and her team have helped thousands of families across Canada achieve their dream of homeownership — a testament to the trust, loyalty and genuine relationships she has built over the years.

Every call moves families closer to financial goals.

What Bernadette tends to downplay — but what clearly drives her success — is her deep, personal commitment to growth: for her clients, her team, her family, and herself. One example of this is her weekly habit of intentional improvement.

“If there are 52 weeks in a year, that gives me the opportunity to improve at least 52 things in business,” she says. This mindset extends beyond work. Every Sunday, she and her husband — who is also her business partner — carve out two to three hours for a coffee date: time set aside to bond, reflect, and align on both family and business matters.

Unicycle Family fun (Tyra, Bernadette, Justin, and Mike Laxamana)

Weekends are reserved for family, often spent unicycling. “I learned how to unicycle so I could bond with my kids,” she laughs. “That’s what they love doing, and I want to be able to support their ideas.”

Though Bernadette has now lived more years in Canada than in the Philippines, she remains deeply Filipino at heart. True to the Filipino value of caring for one’s family, she financially supports her mother (her father has passed away), and has given her sister a job. She also wants her children, now 24 and 21, to stay with her as long as they wish — “Isn’t that every Filipina mother’s dream?” she smiles.

When it comes to business, however, Bernadette draws from her Canadian professional experience. “In the Philippines, one can be a little more ‘cowboy,’ as we like to say. But here, you have to learn systems, processes, and structure.”

She adds, “What’s wonderful about Canada is that here, the everyday man or woman can uplift their situation. Unlike in the Philippines, where unfortunately it takes more than hard work — you need to have a name or connections.”

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Despite all her success, Bernadette admits she still experiences moments of self-doubt. “I’m not always confident. I experience insecurity, envy… all these emotions. We’ll always have them. These are the feelings you get when you’re doing something different and new. If you’re not feeling anything different, then you can’t be scared.”

Her advice to her kababayans whose dreams may feel out of reach:

“If there’s something you want to do, write it down. Envision what it is, why it’s important, and what emotions you’ll feel once you get there — then keep focusing on that. Remember, there’s no such thing as a bad desire. Some people might say it’s too ambitious, too selfish, too much. But what you desire comes from above and will help you make it happen. Give yourself the chance, because if you don’t even try, you’ll always be at ground zero.”