The territory of Montréal, with the figures
Montréal is the 1st municipality in the Montréal region by population, with 1,913,561 residents across 431.5 km². Provincially it ranks 1st.
The larger the population, the wider the range of files. A lender who shines on a plex isn’t necessarily best on a new condominium. That’s why I submit to several rather than betting on one.
No physical office in Montréal : I serve Quebec remotely, by phone and video call. That changes nothing about lender access: the file moves electronically. My calculators give a first read on the numbers before we talk.
Of the 16 municipalities in the Montréal region, Montréal ranks 1st by population. The region’s average density is 3,513 residents per km².
The numbers above come from the MAMH municipal directory, published as Quebec open data. The retrieval date appears in the page footer.
The same services apply to the neighbouring areas: Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Côte-Saint-Luc and Pointe-Claire.
Transfer duty in Montréal
In Montréal, the transfer duty, the “welcome tax”, is calculated in brackets on the higher of the price paid and the standardized municipal assessment. With Quebec’s base schedule for 2026 (0.5% up to $62,900, 1% up to $315,000, 1.5% above), a $350,000 purchase comes to about $3,360 and a $500,000 purchase to about $5,610. Montreal applies additional brackets above this schedule; the amount there is higher.
The bill arrives by mail weeks or months after closing. It does not go through the notary and cannot be financed in the mortgage: keep the amount in your reserve after the purchase. For your price, use the purchase costs tool.
Building the file, then shopping it
A file follows the same path everywhere in Quebec: a fifteen- to thirty-minute call, assembling the records, shopping the lenders whose criteria fit, your decision on offers compared on the same basis, then signing at your notary. I calculate your ratios before putting your name forward, because a refused application leaves a mark on the credit file. The five steps and the usual timing are detailed on the How it works page.
What has to come out of the drawer
Three blocks of records, plus a fourth depending on the property: income (pay stubs, employment letter, notices of assessment, or returns and financial statements for a self-employed borrower), assets (three months of complete statements tracing the down payment), and debts (cards, lines, loans, with the monthly payment). For a condo, the syndicate’s documents are added and come from the syndicate, not from you. The full list and the reason for each item are in the guide Prepare a purchase file.
What people in Montréal ask me most
Where do I start? With the paperwork: pay stubs, notices of assessment, three months of bank statements. With those in hand the first call becomes far more useful.
Do I have to bank somewhere to get financing there? No. A well-built file is judged on its numbers, not on how long you’ve held a chequing account.
Do you guarantee approval? No, and no one can. I can tell you what your file looks like and where it stands the best chance, but the decision belongs to the lender.
Is a pre-approval an approval? No. It’s an indication of capacity with a rate held for a limited window. The lender still has to approve the property itself.
Is the posted branch rate the one I’ll get? Not necessarily. The posted rate is a starting point; the rate granted depends on the file and can differ between lenders for the same person.
Do you have an office in Montréal? No. I’m a Quebec mortgage broker working remotely, by phone and video. Documents move online and the final signature happens at your notary’s. The contact page lists the ways to reach me.
None of the above matches your situation? That’s common. The call is for the cases a list can’t cover.