Private mortgages, B lenders, MICs and second mortgages — how they work and when they make sense.
MLI Select is sold on 95% loan-to-value and a 50-year amortization. On a $1,800,000 six-unit building, CMHC's 1.10 debt coverage ratio caps the loan at $1,486,256 — 82.57% of value — and the route to 100 points can shrink it further.
A stated income mortgage caps out at 90% loan-to-value and costs 2.75 points more premium than documenting the same income: $17,325 on a $700,000 buy.
A construction mortgage does not fund your build - it reimburses work an appraiser has certified as finished, less a 10% holdback. On a $600,000 fixed-price build against an $850,000 as-completed appraisal, that is $540,000 advanced before you move in, $17,717 of construction-period interest, and $6,000 riding on every percentage point of certified completion.
CMHC allows 5% down on two units and a flat 10% on three or four. Above $500,000 the gap is a constant $25,000 - and on a $900,000 building the third unit recovers it in 23 months and the fourth in 13. What a multiplex mortgage actually costs, which rent method doubles your borrowing power, and the two cliffs to stay under.
A consumer proposal mortgage runs on two clocks. The bureau purge caps at six years from filing, so accelerating a 60-month proposal to 48 months moves your bank date by zero days - and your B-lender date forward by a full year.
A rental property mortgage needs 20% down on a non-owner-occupied duplex, but income, not equity, decides the file. On an $800,000 duplex the insured CMHC Income Property route is declined at a 45.1% TDS while the uninsured file clears at 36.9%. Full arithmetic on rates in effect 19 October 2026.
A private mortgage is priced on the assumption that you leave. Three rollover years cost $210,018 and retire no principal; exiting to a B lender after one costs $60,205 less. The twelve-month plan that gets the exit approved.
Reverse mortgages let Canadians 55+ draw up to 55% of their home's value with no monthly payment. We model what the balance actually does over 5, 10, 15 and 20 years, and compare it against a HELOC and a refinance.
Bridge financing is priced off prime, now 4.45%, plus a $250-$500 set-up fee. On a 15-day gap that fee is 45% of your cost, which inverts the usual advice: negotiate the fee, not the rate.
With the best A-lender five-year fixed at 4.34%, a borrower who lands at a B lender instead of a bank pays about $355 more a month on $500,000 plus a lender fee near $5,000 — roughly $12,950 over the first year. Here is the cost at every credit score band, and when paying it is still the right call.
A self-employed mortgage is underwritten on line 150 of your tax return, not your revenue. With the Bank of Canada at 2.25% and the best insured five-year fixed at 4.34%, here is how the 15% income gross-up works, what A, B and private lenders cost on a $500,000 mortgage, and the eight things to do before you apply.
Borrowing $75,000 against your home costs roughly $3,713 over twelve months on a HELOC at an illustrative prime plus 0.50%, against about $11,993 on a one-year fixed second mortgage once fees are counted. Here is which one is cheaper for your file.
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