Every step of a financing request, explained.
Short guides, one per question. Documents, costs and terms.
Book a quick callCommercial
Purchase, leases and income on a commercial property.
Commercial purchase: required documents
Purchase offer, leases, income, expenses, work and equity.
Reading a commercial lease before buying
Term, indexation, renewal, charges and termination clauses.
Assessing net income on a commercial property
Collected rents, real expenses, vacancy and management fees.
Mixed-use: what lenders review
Residential share, commercial share, leases and zoning.
The coverage ratio explained
How lenders measure a property’s ability to repay.
Commercial down payment: accepted sources
Savings, equity from another property, vendor and partners.
Plex and multi-unit
Rents, expenses and documents for a residential building.
Buying a first plex: the steps
Budget, down payment, rental income and property visits.
Multi-unit refinancing: required documents
Rents, expenses, current debt and use of funds.
Stated rents and actual rents
Gaps between the seller’s rent roll and signed leases.
Five units and up: CMHC or conventional
Two financing paths, two sets of terms and timelines.
Improving a building before refinancing
Work, rents, expenses and documents to prepare ahead.
Operating expenses: what counts
Taxes, insurance, energy, maintenance, management and reserve.
Land
Zoning, down payment and timelines before construction.
Financing vacant land: terms
Down payment, term, zoning and intended use.
Zoning and easements to check
Permitted uses, setbacks, easements and site constraints.
Land with a project: what reassures a lender
Plans, permits, schedule and budget for the planned project.
Agricultural-zone lot: financing options
Authorization, permitted uses and lenders active in this market.
Down payment on land
Amounts required by land type and project.
Time between purchase and construction
Loan term, permits to obtain and possible renewal.
Construction
Budget, staged advances and the permanent loan.
Construction loan: draws by stage
Advances tied to progress, reports and legal holdbacks.
Construction budget: items to plan
Land, work, professionals, permits, fees and contingency.
Contingency: how much to set aside
Share of the budget set aside for site surprises.
Site supervision and reports
Visits, progress reports and who signs them.
Moving from construction loan to permanent loan
Conditions to meet, closing documents and the timeline.
Owner-built homes: what changes
Required experience, guarantees, advances and documents.
Private loans
Rate, fees, security and repayment on a private loan.
Private loan: points to check
Rate, fees, security, maturity and repayment before signing.
Private loan fees: the full list
Opening, brokerage, legal, appraisal and renewal.
Repaying a private loan in twelve months
Three ways to repay and how long each takes.
Bridge loan between two transactions
Buying before selling: amount, term and real cost.
Second position security: implications
How lien position changes rate, amount and risk.
Comparing two private offers
A grid that puts two proposals side by side.
Refinancing
Equity, penalties and renewal of an existing loan.
Refinancing to access equity
Value, current debt, available amount and use of funds.
Prepayment penalty
How it is calculated and when paying it makes sense.
The right time to renew
Renewal window, preparation and room to negotiate.
Consolidating several properties
Combining loans: terms, security and effects on flexibility.
Refinancing after major work
Invoices, new value, revised rents and waiting period.
Fixed or variable at renewal
What each costs, and what each means for your payments.
Documents
Documents to gather before submitting a request.
The complete request in twelve documents
One list that covers almost every request.
Financial statements: what to provide
Years required, level of preparation and notes.
Personal balance sheet: how to prepare it
Assets, debts, net worth and supporting documents.
Notices of assessment and tax returns
Years required, income counted and gaps to explain.
Leases, receipts and rent rolls
How to document rental income.
Purchase offer: clauses to watch
Financing conditions, deadlines, inspection and documents to obtain.
Costs
Fees, appraisals, taxes and the total cost of financing.
Brokerage and opening fees
Who charges them, when they are paid and how they are negotiated.
Appraisal, inspection, environmental
Three reports, their costs and when to order them.
Legal and notary fees
Deeds, registration, searches and lender fees.
Transfer duties and adjustments
Transfer duties, prepaid taxes and how they are split.
Total cost of financing over five years
Interest, fees, renewal and discharge, added up.
Title insurance and loan insurance
What each covers, its cost and when it is required.
Terms
Amortization, guarantees, disbursement and default clauses.
Amortization: twenty-five or thirty years
Effect on payments, interest and qualification.
Term, rate and commitment period
The difference between term, amortization and rate period.
Personal guarantees required
What you commit beyond the financed property.
Disbursement conditions
What must be provided before funds are released.
Default clauses to know
What triggers a default, beyond a missed payment.
Portability and prepayment
Moving your loan, repaying early and what it costs.
Book a quick call.
Property, transaction, amount and target date.
Book a quick call