Private mortgages, B lenders, MICs and second mortgages — how they work and when they make sense.
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.
B lenders exist for self-employed, bruised-credit and high-ratio files a bank matrix cannot read. Here is who qualifies, what your file needs to look like, and what the premium costs in dollars on a $500,000 mortgage over a two-year term.
A private mortgage quoted at 10.99% does not cost 10.99%. On an illustrative $150,000 one-year second, a 2% lender fee and a 2% broker fee plus legal, appraisal and title charges push the all-in cost to 16.76% annualized. Here is the full breakdown and the exit plan that justifies it.
A lenders offer the lowest rates to borrowers who fit standard rules, B lenders accept more complex files for a premium, and private lenders lend on equity at the highest cost. Compare regulation, rates, fees and first-year cost, plus a plan to move up a tier.
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