Frequently Asked Questions

In Canada the floor is 5% on the first $500,000 of purchase price, then 10% on the portion above $500,000 up to $1.5 million (the new insurable cap as of December 2024). Above $1.5 million you need 20% down on the full price. Below 20% down, you're paying CMHC, Sagen, or Canada Guaranty insurance, which gets rolled into the mortgage. Twenty percent down avoids the premium but isn't always the right move financially. The math on whether to go insured or conventional is actually a real conversation, not a default.

The B-20 stress test forces you to qualify at the higher of (a) your contract rate plus 2%, or (b) the Bank of Canada's minimum qualifying rate. Even if your real payment will be at, say, 4.8%, the lender approves you as if you were paying 6.8% or more. The stress test is why two people with the same income and same down payment can qualify for very different purchase prices, depending on which lender and which product they go with. Some products and some lenders apply the test more flexibly than others. That's part of what shopping the market actually means.

Plan on roughly 1.5 to 2% of the purchase price for a standard Ontario closing. The biggest line is usually Land Transfer Tax (LTT), which is provincial, with an additional municipal tier in Toronto. First-time buyers can claim up to $4,000 back on the provincial LTT. The other lines are legal fees, title insurance, mortgage adjustments, and the prepaid portion of property taxes. Most lenders want to see at least 1.5% of the purchase price in your account on top of the down payment, so the closing-cost line isn't optional planning.

For most clients, nothing. I'm compensated by the lender at funding, not by you. Compensation comes through The Mortgage Coach (FSRA Brokerage Licence #13120) and varies by lender and product. The exception is alternative lending and private financing, where a broker fee may apply. If a fee applies on your file, I tell you about it before any application goes in. There's never a surprise charge at closing.

Sometimes yes, sometimes no, and the rate isn't always the right question. The thing I keep coming back to is that the cheapest rate with the wrong product can cost a client tens of thousands more than a slightly higher rate with the right one. Prepayment privileges, portability, blend-and-extend rights, penalty math, and amortization flexibility all matter. We start with the structure that fits your file, then I shop the market for the best version of that structure. The conversation is rate-aware, not rate-only.

For a clean file (T4 income, two-year employment history, decent credit), 24 to 48 hours from full document submission. The process is fully remote: secure document portal, video call if needed, no in-person visit required unless you want one. A pre-approval typically locks your rate for up to 120 days, which gives you real shopping room. If your file is more complex, self-employed, recent income change, alt-A scenario, the timeline can stretch a few days. We'll talk about it upfront, not at the end.

Yes, and the file looks different. Two years of business activity, recent Notices of Assessment, and clean financial statements are the foundation. Many self-employed clients show lower-than-actual income on paper for valid tax-planning reasons, which can hurt traditional bank qualification but works fine with stated-income programs and alt-A lenders. The structure depends on whether your business is incorporated, sole-prop, or salary-from-corp. I work with the right lenders for each scenario.

Almost always, the lender's posted rate, not their best rate. Most renewal letters arrive 90 to 120 days before maturity, and they're a starting point for negotiation, not a final offer. The cheapest moment to restructure your mortgage is at renewal because there's no penalty in the way. If you have consumer debt, are planning a renovation, considering a rental purchase, or want to switch into a readvanceable product to set up tax-deductible strategies later, renewal is when the math works. We sit down 90 days out and decide on purpose.

Yes, and how the lender treats rental income varies more than most clients realize. For an existing rental, lenders will use 50 to 80% of gross rent (depending on the program) toward your debt service ratios. For a property you're buying as a rental, projected market rent (supported by an appraisal addendum) can be added to your file. For a duplex or triplex you're buying as your primary residence with a rental unit, the rental income from the suite can sometimes count for qualification. The right structuring of how the deal is presented to the lender often determines whether it qualifies at all.

In Ontario, both work under a sponsoring brokerage. The license titles are Mortgage Agent Level 1, Mortgage Agent Level 2 (which is what I hold), and Mortgage Broker. Level 2 is the standard practising license for full-scope mortgage work. Mortgage Broker is a higher classification that adds principal-broker responsibilities. For client-facing work on residential and most commercial mortgages, Agent Level 2 is the right license. Where you should care: any agent or broker you work with should be registered with FSRA, and you can verify any license at FSRA's public registry.

That's where the conversation gets interesting. I'm a licensed Mortgage Agent Level 2, but I'm also a licensed Ontario builder and a real estate developer with units I've put in the ground and rentals I still own. For build files, construction draws, infill projects, ADU financing, or restructuring a portfolio for tax efficiency, the broker, builder, and developer perspectives sit at the same table. Most agents can talk you through the rate. Fewer can talk you through the project, the rate, and how the rentals pencil out at the same time.