Private mortgage options
for Ontario, BC and Alberta.
Seven private mortgage options in two families. Prime is the tighter box — urban markets, cleaner credit, no private money already on title — and carries the sharpest terms we offer. Flex exists for everything Prime turns away: smaller markets, thinner credit, private money already registered. Rental and HELOC-75 sit alongside. Every program's criteria are published here; the rate is quoted per file.
Private lending criteria in Canada are rarely published. Every box below is — the credit band, the loan-to-value ceiling, the markets and the property types — so a broker can tell before submitting whether a file fits, and a borrower can see what the answer will turn on.
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Prime and Flex, side by side.
| Criteria | Prime | Flex |
|---|---|---|
| Positions | 1st and 2nd, plus the quick-close series | 1st and 2nd, plus Rental and HELOC-75 |
| Geography | Prime markets in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta | Materially more locations, including smaller and rural markets |
| Population | Centres of 50,000+ | No fixed population floor — assessed on marketability |
| Credit | 660+ prices best; 600–659 accepted | Full spectrum from the 500 band, including no established score |
| Private on title | Not eligible | Acceptable, including private-to-private takeouts |
| LTV ceiling | Up to the program maximum in Ontario; tighter in BC and Alberta | Highest ceilings in the suite on qualifying files |
| Income | Not required | Not required |
| Condominiums | Reduced ceiling, minimum two bedrooms | Reduced ceiling, minimum two bedrooms |
| Terms | 3, 6, 9, 12 months · open or closed | 3, 6, 9, 12 months · open or closed |
| Pricing | Sharpest pricing Lendmax offers | Above Prime, reflecting the wider box |
Ceilings shown are program maximums. The ceiling applied to any one file is set by location, credit band, position and property type together. Run a file through the Pricing Calculator →
Pick the one that fits the file.
Prime 1st Mortgage →
First charge for purchase or refinance on urban and near-urban residential property in centres of 50,000 or more, with no private money on title.
PrimePrime 2nd Mortgage →
Second charge behind an institutional or conventional first, for equity takeout, debt consolidation or a short-dated cash need.
PrimePrime 50 & Prime 75 →
Small second mortgages to $50,000 and $75,000 on one all-in price, open with no penalty, funded in 48 hours.
FlexFlex 1st Mortgage →
First charge across a far wider map — smaller markets, rural files, bruised credit and private takeouts.
FlexFlex 2nd Mortgage →
The highest loan-to-value ceilings Lendmax offers, behind an institutional, conventional or private first.
SpecialtyRental Program →
One to four unit rentals and small investment property, with rent counted the way the file actually works.
SpecialtyHELOC-75 →
A revolving home equity line to 75% loan-to-value, drawn and repaid as the borrower needs it.
CoverageLending areas →
Which programs are available where, and how market size changes the ceiling.
Which program a file lands in.
Four questions settle it, in this order. Each one is a fact about the file, not a judgement call, so a broker can answer all four before submitting.
- Is there private money on title already? If yes, the file is Flex. A private-to-private takeout is a Flex file whatever else is true about it. Prime does not sit behind or replace private paper.
- How big is the centre? Prime needs a market of 50,000 or more. Below that the file is Flex, assessed on how readily the property would sell rather than on a population line.
- Where does the credit sit? From 660 the file prices best in Prime. Between 600 and 659 Prime still accepts it. Below 600, or with no established score at all, the file is Flex.
- What is the property doing? An owner-occupied house runs through the standard first and second programs. One to four rental units go to the Rental Program. A borrower who wants to draw and repay rather than take one lump sum goes to HELOC-75.
Answer those four and the program is determined. The position — first or second charge — follows from what is already registered, and the loan-to-value ceiling follows from the program, the location and the property type together.
What borrowers actually come for.
| What the borrower needs | Where it usually lands | What the file turns on |
|---|---|---|
| Debt consolidation | Prime 2nd, Flex 2nd, or Prime 50 and 75 for smaller amounts | Combined loan-to-value once the consolidated balance is added, and whether the first is institutional or private |
| Equity takeout | Second charge in either family; HELOC-75 where the draw is staged | Appraised value, the balance ahead, and the exit at the end of the term |
| Mortgage or tax arrears | Flex, first or second depending on what is registered | Size of the arrears against the equity, and whether enforcement has started |
| Bank declined the renewal | Prime 1st where the file is clean, Flex 1st otherwise | Why the bank declined — a stress-test failure prices differently from a credit event |
| Purchase under a firm closing date | Prime 1st, or Prime 50 and 75 to bridge a shortfall | Closing date against the documents in hand; a complete file funds faster than a strong one |
| Self-employed with no provable income | Either family — income is not required in any Lendmax program | Equity and marketability, since the file is underwritten on the property |
| Rental or small investment property | Rental Program | Unit count, and whether the rent is counted the way the file actually works |
| Rural or small-town property | Flex 1st or Flex 2nd | Marketability — how long the property would take to sell, not the population figure |
| Private first already registered | Flex 2nd, or Flex 1st as a takeout | Terms of the existing private paper and whether it can be postponed or discharged |
Every row above is a starting point, not a rule. A file can sit in more than one column, and the desk will say which program it is pricing and why. Run it through the Pricing Calculator →
Private mortgage options — questions brokers ask
Can one file use two programs at once?
A first and a second can be written together, and a combined first-and-second bundle is a normal Lendmax structure. What cannot happen is a Prime second behind a private first — the moment private money is on title, the second is a Flex file.
What moves a file from Prime to Flex?
Any one of four things: private money already registered, a centre under 50,000, credit below 600 or no established score, or a property whose marketability needs a closer look. One of them is enough. None of them is a decline.
Is Flex a decline in disguise?
No. Flex is a wider box with its own published criteria and the highest loan-to-value ceilings in the suite. It prices above Prime because it accepts files Prime turns away — that is the trade, and it is stated rather than hidden.
Do any of the programs require proven income?
None of them. Every Lendmax program is underwritten on the property and the equity, which is why self-employed borrowers, commission earners and borrowers between contracts can be placed where an institutional lender cannot help.
How long are the terms, and are they open?
Three, six, nine and twelve months across both families, open or closed. Prime 50 and Prime 75 are open with no penalty. An open term matters when the exit is a sale or a refinance on an uncertain date.
Are condominiums treated differently?
Yes, in both families. The ceiling is reduced and the unit needs a minimum of two bedrooms. Marketability drives it — a one-bedroom unit in a saturated building takes longer to sell.