Mortgage Lenders and Brokers in Canada: Where to Get a Mortgage

Where you get your mortgage shapes more than the rate. The lender decides how flexible the mortgage is at renewal, how the penalty is calculated if you break it early, and whether an unusual income or credit history can be approved at all. These guides cover choosing a channel and a lender, getting the best offer, getting approved, and qualifying when your situation isn’t standard. Current rates themselves are on today’s mortgage rates.

The types of lenders at a glance

The whole spectrum, and when each tier makes sense, is laid out in the types of mortgage lenders. What a B-lender or alternative lender is, and how the move back to a bank works, is explained in B-lender mortgages.

Choosing where to get a mortgage

• Mortgage broker vs bank vs online lender: the three channels, a bank mortgage specialist vs a broker, and rate comparison sites.
• Types of mortgage lenders in Canada: A-lenders, B-lenders, credit unions, MICs and private lenders.
• Big bank vs monoline lenders: what monolines are and how their rates, penalties and service compare.

About mortgage brokers

• What is a mortgage broker?: what brokers and agents do and who regulates them in each province.
• How mortgage brokers get paid: lender finder’s fees, trailers and when a borrower pays a fee.
• Questions to ask when shopping for a mortgage: the rate hold, prepayment, penalty method, portability and charge type.
• How to become a mortgage broker: licensing by province, costs and earnings.

Lender roundups

• Best mortgage brokers in Canada: online brokerages and broker networks, and how to choose a broker.
• Best mortgage lenders in Canada: big banks, monolines, credit unions and online lenders.
• The best B-lenders: the trust companies that lend to near-prime borrowers.
• Mortgage lenders for bad credit: which lenders to use by credit band, and the path back to a bank.
• Private mortgage lenders: how private mortgages and MICs work and what they cost.
• First-time buyers: the best mortgage lenders for first-time buyers.

Platform reviews

• nesto review
• Ratehub review
• True North Mortgage review
• Perch review
• Homewise review (Homewise is a WealthNorth referral partner)
• nesto vs Ratehub vs True North: the three head to head.

Getting the best offer

• How to negotiate your mortgage rate: competing quotes, who to ask, what to negotiate besides the rate, and scripts.
• Comparing mortgage offers: putting two or more offers side by side.

Getting approved

• The mortgage underwriting process: what happens after you apply, conditions and the commitment letter.
• Mortgage employment letter template: what the letter must say, and income documents by type of work.
• Changing jobs while mortgage shopping: how a new job affects approval.
• How to qualify for a larger mortgage: the levers that raise your maximum.
• How credit card debt affects mortgage approval: the payment lenders count and when it lowers your maximum.
• Bank statements and spending history: the 90-day down payment trail, large deposits and red flags.
• Improving your credit score for a mortgage: what lenders look at and what to do before you apply.
• What to do when your mortgage is denied: finding out why and where to apply next.

After a credit event

• A mortgage after a consumer proposal
• A mortgage after bankruptcy

Special situations

• Self-employed mortgages: including gig and contract workers.
• Commission income: how lenders count it.
• Mortgages for newcomers to Canada: programs by immigration status, credit history and foreign funds.
• A mortgage on maternity or parental leave: qualifying, and paying during the leave.
• A mortgage with disability income: how each benefit is counted.
• Your mortgage if you become disabled: replacement income and insurance.
• A mortgage for vacant land: down payments, lenders and land-plus-construction loans.
• Adding someone to your mortgage: requalifying, title and land transfer tax.
• AI in the mortgage industry: how lenders use it and what it means for borrowers.