Why Your Multifamily Deal Needs a Specialized Mortgage Broker Not Just Any Bank
In this episode of the Wisdom Lifestyle Money Show, host Scott Dillingham welcomes Jennifer Champion and Christine Trainor from LendCity Mortgages to discuss the advantages of working with seasoned mortgage brokers for multifamily and commercial investments. Drawing from real-wor…
In this episode of the Wisdom Lifestyle Money Show, host Scott Dillingham welcomes Jennifer Champion and Christine Trainor from LendCity Mortgages to discuss the advantages of working with seasoned mortgage brokers for multifamily and commercial investments. Drawing from real-world examples, they highlight common pitfalls when investors go directly to banks, such as limited options, higher rates, and outright denials. Scott shares a case where a client with a 57-unit property leased to a single corporate tenant was initially offered $13 million by their bank but faced rejection upon deeper review. Through LendCity's broker network, the client secured approximately $16 million at rates about 1% lower, transforming a "no" into a viable deal with CMHC approval.
The conversation emphasizes how brokers provide access to a broader range of lenders, many of whom don't deal directly with consumers, especially in commercial spaces. Christine explains that lenders' appetites vary for products like construction loans or smaller loan amounts, and brokers can shop around to match client needs. Jennifer adds that investor-focused brokers, like herself and Christine who are investors too, offer strategic guidance on portfolio growth using tools such as conventional financing, CMHC insurance, or MLI Select programs for higher loan-to-values and longer amortizations up to 40 years. They stress the importance of forward-thinking planning to avoid suboptimal conventional loans that banks might default to, even when better CMHC options are available.
As of November 2025, CMHC has implemented updates to multi-unit mortgage loan insurance premiums effective July 14, 2025, standardizing approaches across products including MLI Select with adjusted premiums to reflect risk and affordability goals. Current Canadian mortgage rates for multifamily properties align with the episode's insights, with variable rates as low as 3.45% and fixed rates around 4.39%-4.44% for terms like 4-5 years, supporting stronger cash flow for investors. This episode provides essential tips for building real estate portfolios efficiently, underscoring the value of expert brokerage in navigating evolving market conditions.
Key Takeaways
- Access to Exclusive Lenders: Many commercial lenders don't work directly with consumers; brokers like those at LendCity provide entry to these options, expanding choices beyond big banks.
- Better Rates and Terms: Clients can secure lower interest rates (e.g., 1% savings) and higher loan amounts, as seen in a $3 million increase for a 57-unit property with a single tenant.
- Strategic Portfolio Planning: Investor-focused brokers offer holistic advice on using CMHC, MLI Select, or conventional financing to optimize loan-to-value ratios up to 85% and amortizations up to 40 years.
- Avoiding Bank Limitations: Banks may default to conventional loans with shorter terms (e.g., 25 years) and lower LTVs (75%), missing out on CMHC benefits that enhance cash flow and leverage.
- Tailored Solutions for Complex Deals: Brokers handle varying lender appetites for products like construction loans or smaller amounts, turning potential denials into approvals.
- CMHC Updates 2025: Premiums for multi-unit insurance were standardized in July 2025; check current rates (variables ~3.45%, fixed ~4.4%) for multifamily to ensure optimal financing.
Links to Show References
- LendCity Mortgages (for Strategy Calls and Pre-Approvals): lendcity.ca
- CMHC Multi-Unit Mortgage Insurance Updates: cmhc-schl.gc.ca
- (00:04) - Introduction to the Experts
- (02:21) - Broker Benefits Explained
- (03:49) - Understanding Lender Limitations
- (05:17) - The Power of Strategic Financing
- (06:43) - Special Offers and Wrap-Up
Transcript
Introduction
Welcome to the Wisdom Lifestyle Money Show. I'm your host, Scott Dillingham. The show is designed to help Canadians invest better in Canada and the United States. We are the North America-based mortgage financing lender and provide education to both countries.
Discover how you can become a better investor and access the financing you need. Welcome back to the Wisdom Lifestyle Money Show. I'm your host, Scott Dillingham, and today we have Jennifer Champion and Christine Traynor with us today.
So welcome. Hi, Scott.
Right. So we wanted to talk to you today because we see this all the time. Obviously, as lenders, we see clients go direct to their lender or we see them go direct to a broker who lacks experience. And that causes a lot of issues.
The Core Idea
So we really wanted to highlight, and this episode is about the benefits. And we're going to list some examples of why going with the correct broker who's tapping into your multifamily financing and what that could look like, not only from a financial standpoint, but just ease of application and avoiding these mistakes. So I'm going to start today with an example. So there is this investor who has rehabbed the whole property and now it's 57 units and he rents it to a large tenant.
Now, this client went direct to his major bank where he gets his banking from, and they offered him a $13 million loan at first. Now, once they discovered that it was one tenant, it was a corporation that's renting all 57 units and then they rent them out, right?
They sublet them under that. Once that was discovered, this lender said, no, that won't work.
Okay. So they came to us and we got it all priced with the lenders and everything.
Deep Dive
6 million. So $3 million more.
Better rates as well. From what he's telling me, he was saying, you know, mid fours or we're below, you know, 1% below that. So that's a massive difference as well for his property. And then come to find out they declined him because of everything being on one lease where we had spoke to the lenders and confirmed with CMHC that all that was fine.
And so the deal is working out. So obviously there's still due diligence and documents and different things like that that's needed to finalize this file. But what a drastic difference, right? Saving 1% of the rate, getting $3 million more in lending and going from a no event, right?
To a yes. So that's a massive, massive difference that having that expertise and additional lenders bring to the table. And Christine and Jen, I'm going to turn it over to you guys, but I know you have tons of examples like this.
Practical Steps
So I'd love to hear from you. It doesn't matter who's first, but let's talk about some of these challenges and wins that you guys have seen out there.
Okay, thanks, Scott. I'll jump in with a couple examples here from this end. So one of the things that we see quite often is different lenders have different appetites at different times in the market for different types of loans. Might be like, we're not doing that type of lending right now, but we've got other lenders that will.
So if you are going direct to that lender and they're not interested in doing a construction loan, for example, they might say, we're not going to do this deal. But by working with a broker who has access to multiple lenders, you can get it done. One example that we see often too is that different locations. So sometimes certain lenders aren't interested in lending, you know, let's just say a million dollars in a certain location or even just a million dollars in general might be too low for them.
But we do have a pool of lenders that will. So I think you just get so many more with a broker who has access to multiple lenders. The other thing too is that a lot of lenders that we have access to don't work direct with consumers. So you can't actually access that lending, period, if you don't go through a broker.
Key Takeaways
Yeah, that's a great point. That's a great point.
You're right. I actually forgot about that. But I think more than half the lenders will not work with the client. It's literally only through the broker.
Yeah, especially in the commercial space. Yeah.
Yeah. So thanks for sharing that, Christine. Jennifer, what are some examples you have? I think just in terms of like working with an investor-focused broker, you know, like Christine and I are both investors ourselves, just having like that lens on looking at, you know, refinancing your portfolio or new purchases moving forward and being very strategic with the lenders you're using, the approach you're taking, conventional CMHC, MLI Select, and just sort of like working with a broker who has that overarching goal in mind for your portfolio instead of, you know, let's get this one deal done and then move on to the next and not sort of have that like forward vision.
Resources
No, I agree. I agree. And people don't always know what's not there. So what I think is if you're somebody who's listening to this and your gut instinct is like, let's go to the bank, right?
I have all my banking there. They know the product.
Just give us a call. Like it's just literally a strategy call. And I'll give another example, right? So I know before the call, we were talking about this client of ours who he has a large multifamily commercial property portfolio and he kept going to the bank.
Now he's not anymore, but the bank offers CMHC, right? Multifamily insurance. So he could have got a 40-year eminitization, 85% loan to value, all that good stuff. But what the bank was giving him was just conventional loans.
Introduction
And they weren't even doing it. And the bank offers this, like the bank that he went to offers CMHC. So once he discovered that this is the thing and he can move forward with it, he got so excited. So he told his bank, you know what, I'm canceling.
I want to do like the CMHC applications with Scott. I don't want to do these conventional deals.
It doesn't make sense. And they're like, oh, we do those too. And so like, I was dumbfounded. Like, why would you not offer that to the client from day one when he's building his portfolio, right?
Why would you put him in these things with 25-year ams at 75 LTVs, which is exactly what he got on all of his properties when he could have got way more, right? He'd have more funds in his account so he could leverage better, purchase additional properties, stronger cash flow with that 40-year amortization. And it just doesn't make sense. So like, even the banks that offer this program, I think they're taking the easy path, right?
The Core Idea
And they're not going down this pathway. And it costs the client who knows, you know, how much an interest too because conventional loans are much higher in interest expense than CMHC loans. So I think it's always good to speak to an expert. So we are going to put the links in the bottom of the show notes.
So if anybody wants to book a call with Christine, Jen, myself, doesn't matter. Book that call. We'll help you out even if it's literally just a conversation. And right now, it's the middle of June.
So I also want you to know that from now until the end of July of 2025, we're actually having a raffle. So by doing a pre-approval or portfolio review with us, you're going to be entered in to win a cruise in February.
It's a Caribbean cruise. I think it's seven days.
Deep Dive
Maybe it's eight days, actually. I forget. But it's, yeah, literally in February.
We're giving it away. So, get in your pre-approvals. Let's get you into enter the contest and let's help build your portfolio the right way. Now, before we go and sign off for the day, Jen and Christine, do you have any other examples or things that you want to touch on?
No? Okay.
Well, that's it then. So everybody, have a great day.
Practical Steps
Tune in next week. We're going to have a lot more good content for you guys and we'll see you soon. Thank you so much for tuning into the show today. If you found value, please follow the show and rate it five stars.
It would mean the world to me. And lastly, all the resources that we spoke about are at the bottom of the show notes. Looking forward to seeing you on the next episode.
