Twelve questions, answered like we're on the record

On most residential mortgages, yes — the lender pays us a finder's fee after your mortgage funds, so you don't pay us directly. But "free" deserves honesty: that fee is a real cost baked into the lending industry, and on alternative (B) or private files, lenders pay less or nothing and a broker fee applies — always disclosed in writing before you commit to anything. How we're paid, including when it could be a conflict, is spelled out on our How it works page.

Your bank can offer you its own products at the discretion its advisors are given. A broker takes one application to many lenders — banks, credit unions, monolines you've never heard of that often price sharper than banks — and the lenders compete for your file. The bank advisor works for the bank; we're licensed to work for you, and we're required to show you why a recommendation suits you.

Not the way people fear. We pull your credit once and shop that single report to every lender we approach. Multiple mortgage inquiries within a short window are also typically treated as one search by scoring models. What does hurt: filling out full applications at five different banks over two months.

Federally regulated lenders must qualify you at the higher of your contract rate + 2% or the 5.25% minimum qualifying rate — not the rate you'll actually pay. It's why your bank's "you qualify for X" can feel lower than expected. Our calculators run it automatically, and note: provincially regulated credit unions may qualify some conventional files at the contract rate.

Minimum 5% of the first $500,000 plus 10% of anything above that, up to $1.5M (illustrative example: $35,000 on a $600,000 home). At $1.5M or above, 20% is required because the mortgage can't be default-insured. Under 20% down you'll also pay a mortgage default insurance premium — see the next question.

With less than 20% down, federal rules require mortgage default insurance (CMHC is the best-known insurer). It protects the lender, but you pay the premium — 2.80% to 4.00% of the loan depending on your down payment tier, normally added to the mortgage balance. One cash sting people miss: in Ontario, provincial sales tax on that premium is due at closing and can't be rolled in.

The honest answer is that nobody, including us, reliably predicts rates. Fixed buys certainty and usually carries a bigger penalty if you break early; variable historically wins slightly more often than it loses, but you carry the payment risk. We'll show you both with your actual numbers and — more usefully — model what breaking each one would cost, since most 5-year mortgages don't make it to year five untouched.

With your documents in hand, we can usually have a pre-approval and a rate hold within 1–3 business days. Most rate holds last 90–120 days; if rates fall during the hold you get the lower rate, and if they rise you keep your hold. A pre-approval is not a guarantee — the property itself still has to pass the lender's review.

Yes — it's a third of our practice. Prime lenders typically use your two-year average of line 15000 on your Notices of Assessment, which punishes healthy write-offs. We work with lenders that apply reasonable add-backs, gross-up program income, or accept stated-income alternatives at slightly higher rates. Details and a worked example are on our Self-employed page.

Not before comparing — the first offer in a renewal letter is rarely the lender's best number, because signing it quietly is what they're counting on. Switching lenders at renewal usually involves no penalty, and since late 2024 a straight switch of an uninsured mortgage doesn't require re-passing the stress test. We'll tell you honestly if your current lender's offer is actually the one to take. Sometimes it is.

For salaried borrowers: government ID, a recent pay stub, a letter of employment, your latest T4 and Notice of Assessment, 90 days of down-payment history, and details of debts and properties. Self-employed adds two years of T1 Generals, NOAs, and business financials or bank statements. We give you a personalized checklist after the first conversation — most clients gather everything in one evening.

Yes, and we'd rather say so here than surprise you: alternative and private lenders pay brokers little or nothing, so a brokerage fee (typically around 1% of the mortgage, minimum applies) is charged on those files. It's disclosed in writing before you commit, alongside the lender's own fee. On standard residential files with our prime lenders, you pay us nothing.

We're licensed in Ontario (fictional licence — this is a sample site) and work mostly across Waterloo Region, Guelph, and southwestern Ontario, though the process is fully remote-friendly and we fund files province-wide. Out-of-province purchase? We'll say so plainly and refer you to a brokerage licensed there.