Who actually pays us
The lender does, once your mortgage closes. It's built into how the lending industry works: lenders pay brokers a commission for bringing them a qualified borrower, similar to how a lender might pay their own in-branch staff a salary to originate the same mortgage. Either way, someone gets compensated for putting the deal together, it's just a question of who.
So why doesn't my rate get worse to cover that
It doesn't, because the commission comes out of the lender's own margin, not tacked onto your rate. In fact, because brokers work with dozens of lenders competing for the business, rates through a broker are often as good or better than walking into a single bank branch, not worse.
When a fee might actually apply
Certain complex files, some private lending situations, or specific alternative lending scenarios can involve a fee, and if that's ever the case for your file, it gets disclosed clearly upfront before you agree to anything. For the standard residential mortgage most people are getting, though, there's no cost to you.
Why this matters for the decision to even call us
A lot of people hesitate to talk to a broker because they assume it's an added expense layered on top of buying a home, which is already expensive enough. It isn't. The actual cost of getting a second opinion on your mortgage, in almost every standard case, is zero.
Curious what your options actually look like?
Reach out, there's no cost and no obligation to find out what we could get you.
Talk to the team, no cost