A licensed mortgage broker near you: Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Vancouver and across Canada
Lendmax Inc. is FSRA-licensed mortgage brokerage #13398 and mortgage administrator #13001, trading as Lendmax Capital, run by principal broker Michael Squeo. What a broker does, how we are paid, and why one application to us is forty-two lenders looking at your file.
What a mortgage broker does
A mortgage broker is a licensed intermediary who takes one application from you and places it with the lender whose guidelines, rate and terms fit your file — banks, monoline lenders, credit unions, alternative (B) lenders and private capital. You deal with one person; the lenders compete for you rather than the other way around.
The practical difference from walking into a branch is that a branch can only say yes or no to its own products. A broker knows which lender counts child support as income, which one will use a 30-year amortization, which one looks past a bruised credit year, and which one has the fairest penalty if you have to break the term. The rate matters; the guideline is what gets a file approved.
How a mortgage broker is paid
On a standard residential mortgage placed with a bank, monoline or credit union, the lender pays the broker a finder's fee and you pay nothing. The rate you receive is the same or lower than the branch rate, because lenders price broker channels separately and compete in them.
On alternative and private files, the lender's finder's fee is smaller or absent, and a broker fee is charged to you and disclosed in writing before you sign anything. It is never a surprise on closing day. Where we recommend our affiliated lender, Lendmax Capital MIC, that relationship is a conflict of interest and is disclosed in writing too.
- No fee to you on standard residential mortgages placed with institutional lenders.
- Any broker fee on an alternative or private file is disclosed in writing in advance.
- Every file receives a written disclosure statement — what it contains.
Mortgage broker vs bank: which gets you the better mortgage?
A bank is one lender with one set of guidelines and one rate sheet, and a branch adviser is paid to place you with it. A broker is not paid to place you anywhere in particular, and the same file — same income, same credit, same property — can be a decline at one lender and an approval with a good rate at another. That variance is the whole reason the brokerage channel exists.
Where a bank wins: an existing relationship with a discretionary exception, a relationship-priced package, or a straight renewal at a rate the bank has decided to defend. Where a broker wins: everything else, and especially any file with a wrinkle — self-employment, a newcomer, a credit event, a rental portfolio, a purchase over $1.5 million, a renewal the bank has priced lazily.
| Mortgage broker | Bank branch | |
|---|---|---|
| Lenders | 40+ — banks, monolines, credit unions, B lenders, private | One |
| Who pays | The lender, on standard residential files | You, through the rate |
| Credit inquiries | One, shared across lenders | One per bank you visit |
| Self-employed, newcomer, bruised credit | Placed with the lender that fits | Approved or declined on one policy |
| Renewal | Shopped across the panel; straight switches skip the stress test | The letter in the mail |
| Licensing | Provincially licensed brokerage and agents | Federally regulated bank |
A mortgage broker near you: Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Vancouver and across Canada
We arrange mortgages across Canada, and this site is written with the four largest markets we serve in mind: Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa. Files are worked by phone, video and the online application at apply.lendmax.ca, with documents uploaded securely, so a mortgage broker near me is, in practice, a broker who answers the phone — and we do, Monday to Saturday, 8am to 8pm Eastern, on 888 350 0202.
Local knowledge still matters, and it is the kind that lives in guidelines rather than geography: which credit unions in Ontario set their own stress test, how Calgary appraisers treat a secondary suite, what a Vancouver lender wants to see on a leasehold, and how Ottawa's federal-employee income is documented. That is the part of local a brokerage can actually deliver.
If you are looking for the best mortgage broker in Toronto, or in any city, the test is the same three questions: how many lenders can they actually place with, will they show you the comparison rather than a single offer, and will they tell you when your bank's renewal letter is already the right answer. We are happy to be measured on all three.
Michael Squeo, CEO and Principal Broker
Michael Squeo is the principal broker of Lendmax Inc. — the licensed individual responsible to FSRA for the brokerage, its agents and every file it places — and the CEO of Lendmax Capital. Every page on this site is reviewed under his name.
An architect at heart, Michael was drawn into real estate by his passion to build. Experienced as a real estate broker, mortgage broker, lender and developer, Michael has a pulse on the Canadian real estate and mortgage market. Having run successful brokerages in the past, he guides Lendmax Capital with a fusion of technology and proactive mortgage management. Michael runs Lendmax Inc. as a mortgage brokerage and administrator under FSRA licensing.
Michael's 25 years in the industry have helped him work through difficult deals, raise capital and deliver to investors on numerous occasions. Lendmax Capital is a perspective of that experience: his leadership has navigated the MIC through unstable markets on behalf of its investors while keeping a competitive product in front of borrowers.
How to choose the best mortgage broker
Ask five questions. Are you licensed, and what is the licence number? — ours are on this page and on every page's footer, and FSRA publishes a register you can check them against. How many lenders do you actually place with? — a panel of six is a bank with extra steps. How are you paid on my file, and will I see it in writing? What is the penalty on the mortgage you are recommending? — a broker who cannot answer has not read the fine print. And what happens at renewal? — the answer should involve shopping it, not renewing it.
A broker's reviews are worth reading for one thing: whether people say the broker was still there after closing. The rate is the easy part.
What to have ready
Government photo ID, two recent pay stubs and a letter of employment (or two years of T1 Generals and Notices of Assessment if self-employed), 90 days of bank statements for the down payment, your current mortgage statement if you have one, and a property listing or agreement of purchase and sale if you are buying. The full pre-approval checklist goes through each one.
Sources and further reading
The figures on this page are checked against the following, and the rate board is as published on August 2026.
- FCAC — preparing to get a mortgage — The qualifying rate, in the government's own words.
- FCAC — renewing your mortgage — Your rights at renewal, including the 21-day renewal statement.
We place your mortgage across Canada’s institutional and alternative network
Placed with Canada's banks, monolines, credit unions, alternative lenders and private capital
Lender marks are the property of their owners and indicate lenders we place mortgages with; none endorses this site.
Why a brokerage beats a single lender
Access to nationwide lenders
A single bank can only offer you the one product it sells. We are licensed across Canada and place files with dozens of lenders — chartered banks, monolines, credit unions, trust companies, alternative lenders and private capital. When one lender says no, that is the start of the conversation, not the end of it.
Specialized programs most borrowers never see
Stated-income and bank-statement programs for the self-employed, newcomer programs that accept international credit, rental-offset policies that make investment properties work, purchase-plus-improvements, extended amortizations, equity-only lending. These are real programs with real guidelines — they are simply not advertised at a branch counter.
Flexibility on how your file is structured
The same borrower can be an approval or a decline depending on which lender sees the file and how the income, debts and property are presented. We know which lender counts child support as income, which one will use a 30-year amortization, and which one will look past a bruised credit year.
Volume leverage on pricing
Lenders price for the brokerages that send them consistent, well-packaged, low-default business. That leverage is why a broker-sourced rate is frequently better than the posted rate — and why an exception request from us gets answered.
Experience with the file that is not straightforward
Power of sale timelines, tax arrears, CRA liens, separation agreements, business-for-self write-offs, construction draws, private-to-A exit plans. The complicated files are the ones where a broker earns their fee — and the ones we handle every week.
One advocate, start to finish
You are not re-explaining your situation to a new person at every stage. One licensed broker owns your file from the first call through to funding, and stays with you through renewal so the plan actually gets executed.
Our four-step process
Understanding the situation
We start with a real conversation, not a form. What is the payment doing to your month? What is the deadline? What has already been declined and why? Everything after this depends on getting this part right.
Finding a solution
Your file is matched against our full lender panel — banks, monolines, credit unions, alternative lenders and private capital — and structured to fit the guideline it will actually be approved under, the first time.
Negotiating rates
We do not accept the first number. Volume and lender relationships get your file priced as an exception, not as a walk-in. Then we compare the true cost — rate, penalty, prepayment terms and fees — side by side.
Stress-free closing
Documents are signed digitally, conditions are cleared by our team, and your lawyer is briefed before funding day. You get one point of contact from approval to keys, and a plan for what happens next.
A licensed mortgage broker near you: Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Vancouver and across Canada — frequently asked questions
Yes. Lendmax Inc., trading as Lendmax Capital, holds mortgage brokerage licence #13398 and mortgage administrator licence #13001, both issued by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA). Both numbers appear in the footer of every page and on the licensing page.
Michael Squeo, CEO and Principal Broker of Lendmax Inc.. A principal broker is the licensed individual responsible to the regulator for the brokerage and for the agents who work under it; his background is on this page.
On a standard residential mortgage placed with a bank, monoline or credit union, no — the lender pays the broker. On alternative and private files a broker fee applies and is disclosed in writing before you sign.
For a straightforward renewal the bank is willing to defend, sometimes not. For everything else — a purchase, a refinance, a self-employed or newcomer file, bruised credit, a renewal priced lazily — a broker with forty lenders usually finds a better rate, a better guideline fit, or both.
We arrange mortgages in all three, and in Vancouver, and across Canada. Files are worked by phone, video and the online application, with a licensed broker on every one.
One application to us is one credit inquiry, shared across the lenders we approach. Applying to three banks separately is three inquiries. And nothing is pulled until you submit the application.
In Ontario and most provinces a brokerage holds the licence and employs licensed agents and brokers who work files under it; a broker is the senior licence class. Both are licensed individuals; the brokerage is the licensed business. The licence numbers on this site are the brokerage's.
Yes. We place private first and second mortgages with private lenders and mortgage investment corporations, including our affiliated lender Lendmax Capital MIC — a relationship disclosed in writing whenever it is recommended.
Apply online at apply.lendmax.ca — it saves as you go and pulls no credit until you submit — or call 888 350 0202, Monday to Saturday, 8am to 8pm Eastern.
Let's talk about your file
One call, a real broker, and a straight answer about what you qualify for and what it will cost. If we cannot beat what you already have, we will tell you that too.