Private Lenders and MICs in Canada: A Broker's Guide to Placing Private Deals (2026)

When a Deal Needs a Private Lender

Private lenders are the fallback tier once a file cannot clear an A-lender or a B-lender: bruised or unrebuildable-in-time credit, unverifiable or complex income, an unconventional property, or a hard closing deadline the traditional underwriting timeline cannot meet. For brokers, knowing when to stop shopping A/B options and go straight to a private structure saves the client time and protects the deal.

Three Types of Private Lenders

• Individual private lenders: one investor funding a mortgage directly, terms and appetite vary the most here, relationship-dependent • Syndicates: a small group pooling capital across multiple investors for a single deal, more structured than an individual lender but still deal-by-deal • MICs (Mortgage Investment Corporations): structured entities that raise capital from shareholders to fund a portfolio of mortgages, operating under the Income Tax Act with more formal oversight, which generally means clearer, more consistent terms and fewer surprises at closing than an individual or syndicate deal

Rate Ranges by Lender Type

Private mortgage pricing varies more than A or B-lender pricing, driven heavily by credit, position (first vs second mortgage), and exit strategy clarity:

The Full Fee Stack: What a Private Deal Actually Costs

Private deals carry more fee layers than a standard A-lender file, and every one of them should be disclosed to the client upfront:

• Lender fee: typically 1%-3% of the loan amount, varies by lender and file complexity • Broker fee: typically 1%-2% of the loan amount, this is the fee you charge directly, unlike standard A-lender deals where you are paid by the lender • Legal fees: typically $1,500-$3,000 to prepare and register the private mortgage

Combined, lender fees, broker commission, and legal costs commonly total 1%-5% of the loan amount, and these are usually deducted from the advance, meaning the client receives less cash than the face value of the loan. Walk clients through this math explicitly before they commit.

How to Package a Private Deal for Faster Approval

Private lenders move fast when the file is clean and slow (or expensive) when it is not:

• Complete documentation upfront, private underwriting has less patience for back-and-forth than A/B files • A clearly stated loan purpose, private lenders want to know exactly what the funds are for • A defined exit strategy: how and when the borrower expects to refinance out or sell, this matters more to a private lender than almost anything else • Property details and, where possible, a recent valuation ready before submission

Files that arrive unprepared typically result in higher quoted fees and slower turnaround, not just a delay.

Broker Disclosure Requirements on Private Deals

Because the borrower pays you directly on a private deal, rather than the lender paying a finder's fee, provincial regulations require a written fee agreement disclosed to the client before the mortgage is arranged. This should spell out your fee, when it is charged, and how it is deducted from the advance. Treat this disclosure as non-negotiable, it is both a regulatory requirement and the clearest way to avoid a dispute at closing.

Building Private Lender Relationships

Most private lenders and MICs originate the bulk of their volume through brokers rather than direct-to-consumer channels. Worth investing in directly:

• Know each lender's typical deal size, property type, and geographic appetite before you submit, misdirected submissions slow everyone down • Keep current contact information for each lender or MIC's BDM • Track which lenders have been fastest and most reliable on past files, private lender service quality varies more than A-lender service quality