How it works
A clean process — and the money question, answered first
Most broker sites bury how they're paid. We think it's the first thing you should know, because it's the only way to judge whose side the advice is on.
How we're paid
Lenders pay us. Here's exactly what that means.
When your mortgage funds with one of our prime lenders, that lender pays Copperline a finder's fee — illustratively in the range of 0.5%–1.15% of the mortgage amount depending on lender and term. On a $500,000 mortgage, that's roughly $2,500–$5,750, paid once, by the lender, after closing.
You don't pay it, and it isn't added to your rate. Lenders pay brokers instead of paying for branches and salaried mortgage staff — it's their customer-acquisition cost. Broker-channel rates are frequently lower than branch rates, not higher, because monoline lenders with no branches at all compete in this channel.
But we won't pretend "the lender pays us" ends the conversation. It creates incentives — and the honest response to an incentive is to put it where you can see it. The panel on the right is our conflict list, published rather than whispered.
When it could be a conflict — and what we do about it
Different lenders pay different fees
The reality · Finder's fees vary by lender and term — a 5-year term typically pays a broker more than a 3-year with the same lender.
Our policy · Every commitment we present lists the compensation beside the rate. If our recommended option pays us more than an alternative, you'll see it — and you'll see the alternative.
Longer terms pay brokers more
The reality · The fee scales with term length, which quietly nudges the industry toward recommending 5-year terms whether or not they fit.
Our policy · Term recommendations come with the reasoning written down: your break-even math, your life plans, penalty exposure. If a 3-year fits better, that's the recommendation — the file notes say why.
Volume bonuses and 'status' tiers
The reality · Some lenders offer brokers efficiency or volume bonuses that reward concentrating business with them.
Our policy · We cap no lender relationship and disclose status tiers on request. Our shortlists are generated from the whole panel, and Priya reviews every recommendation against the file, not the ledger.
B-lender and private files
The reality · Alternative lenders pay brokers little or nothing — so brokerages charge the borrower a fee on those files. This is where bad actors hide costs.
Our policy · Our fee on alternative files (typically ~1% of the mortgage, minimum applies — illustrative) is quoted in writing before we submit anywhere, alongside the lender's own fee. No fee ever appears for the first time at the lawyer's table.
Ontario brokerages are licensed and regulated (in real life, by FSRA), and are required to disclose material conflicts and the basis of a recommendation in writing. We treat those disclosure documents as the floor, not the ceiling. All figures above are illustrative — Copperline Mortgage Co. Inc. (fictional), sample site.
The process
Four steps, two to five weeks
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Day 1 · 15–30 minutes
The fit conversation
Phone, video, or our Duke Street office. We map your situation — income shape, timeline, what you're actually trying to do — and tell you plainly if a mortgage move makes sense right now. Sometimes the best advice is 'wait eight months and do these two things.' You leave with a personalized document checklist.
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Days 2–4
One file, built properly
One credit pull, one application. We package your file the way lender underwriters want to read it — income story, down-payment trail, ratios pre-computed against the stress test — because a clean file gets sharper pricing and fewer conditions.
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Days 3–7
Lenders compete, you compare
We shop the file across the panel that fits it and bring back a shortlist: rate, term, penalty structure, prepayment room — and what each lender pays us, in writing. The cheapest rate with a brutal penalty clause is not the cheapest mortgage; the comparison sheet makes that visible.
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Weeks 2–5
Approval to funding
You pick; we drive the file — appraisal, insurer (if under 20% down), conditions, lawyer's instructions, and the deadlines. You get one point of contact and a weekly status note, and nothing gets signed that we haven't walked through with you line by line.
Renewal switches are usually faster — often ten business days — here's how renewal timing works.
Ready for step one?
The fit conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing — and you'll leave knowing exactly where you stand.