The rent on the listing isn’t the income a lender will use. Depending on whether you live in the building, they keep part of it, or subtract the expenses and look at what’s left.
We start from the leases, taxes, heating, insurance, and maintenance. You see what remains before we talk about return.
Discuss my rental property with MathieuEach lender has its own way of treating rent. Some add a portion to your income; others subtract expenses and measure what’s left. I compare the rate, but also the method, because the method is what decides your capacity.
Your bank applies one rental-income method, and only that one. If it only counts half your rents, your capacity drops and you’ll never know it would have been higher elsewhere. I compare the methods of more than twenty lenders: on an income property, that’s often what separates an approval from a decline.
Price, number of units, current rents, and whether you plan to live there. No documents needed to start.
Rent minus taxes, heating, insurance, maintenance, and vacancy. What’s left before the mortgage.
I compare the lenders that recognize the most rental income for your building type and occupancy.
Send me the offer along with the leases. I build the file and coordinate through to the notary.
Between the rent you collect and what’s left before the mortgage sit the taxes, heating, insurance, and maintenance. And that figure drops again the moment a unit empties or a major repair comes up. That’s the number we work from, not the advertised rent.
A duplex you occupy doesn’t follow the same rules as a fully rented building: the down payment, mortgage insurance, and how rent is treated can all change. And the occupancy has to be genuine, not just claimed.
In most files you pay nothing: I’m paid by the lender that secures your financing. What it costs, in detail
Financing and the rental budget should use the same leases, expenses, and occupancy assumptions.
It starts with occupancy. For a duplex you live in, CMHC allows up to 100% of gross rent to be counted. For many other two-to-four-unit situations, it drops to 50% of gross, or to a net method that subtracts the expenses. Each lender then applies its own method on top. I give you the real percentage once I know the occupancy, the unit count, and what rent evidence you have.
Yes, as long as you genuinely live in one of the units. On the CMHC side, a duplex you occupy can go up to 95% of value. A three- or four-unit you occupy needs at least 10%. If you don’t live in the building, it’s 20% minimum. The lender and insurer then have their own criteria on top of that.
I start from the current leases and what the market shows, using a prudent assumption. The lender decides what income it recognizes. Run the exercise for yourself too: if the unit sits empty three months, or rents for less than expected, your budget still has to hold.
Yes. Their balances, payments, income, and expenses all count in your picture, and the method can differ from one property to the next. I put the whole portfolio in one place to see the new purchase’s real effect on your capacity and your liquidity.
This choice goes beyond the mortgage: it touches financing, guarantees, costs, and taxation. I explain the mortgage options for the structure you’re considering. It’s your accountant, tax adviser, and legal adviser, though, who confirm the ownership form that fits you.
Major banks, credit unions, and specialized lenders each apply their own criteria, products, and terms. A logo does not mean that a mortgage will be offered or approved.
