Residential pays you from the lender. Commercial mostly pays you from the borrower. Everything about the file changes because of that one difference.
Written by A.I.M.I. Collective Mortgage Group, Brokerage editorial team
Published September 2026 · Last reviewed 11 September 2026
The first surprise for a residential broker on a commercial file is that the lender often pays nothing. Commercial brokerage in Canada is largely a borrower paid, fee for service business, and that changes how you engage the client, when you get paid, and how much. Get the engagement right and commercial is the best paid work a broker does. Get it wrong and you do ninety days of work for a handshake.
The standard. Commonly 0.5 to 1 percent of the loan on conventional files, 1 to 2 percent on private, construction and small balance files. Set in a signed engagement letter before work starts and paid through the lawyer at funding.
The exception. Some credit unions, alternative lenders and CMHC insured multi family lenders pay a modest fee. Never assume it. If a lender pays, disclose it and decide whether it reduces the borrower fee.
A retainer, often $1,500 to $5,000, credited against the final fee. It filters tyre kickers and pays for the appraisal chase. Common on construction, land and anything under $1 million.
The brokerage's share of the fee, and on Deal Desk files the underwriter's share, is agreed per file before work starts. On a first file a smaller share of a funded deal beats all of a declined one.
No signed engagement, no fee. It names the property, the loan sought, the fee percentage, when it is earned, the work fee, and what happens if the borrower walks after a commitment. Every experienced commercial broker has a story about the file they placed without one.
Bring it to the Deal Desk for structuring and lender placement, and learn on the deal without losing it.
Residential brokers are trained to never charge the client, to move fast and to compete on rate. Commercial rewards the opposite: a clear fee stated upfront, a realistic timeline, and structure over rate. A borrower who is told "1 percent, 60 to 90 days, here is what I need from you" trusts you more than one who is told it is free and then waits three months. The fee also changes the client's behaviour. Paid clients send documents.
A $2.5 million owner occupied purchase at 0.75 percent is $18,750. A $6 million multi family refinance at 0.5 percent is $30,000. A $900,000 private construction loan at 1.5 percent is $13,500 plus a work fee. Set those against a residential finder's fee on a $700,000 mortgage, roughly $5,000 to $8,000 before split, and the maths behind scaling with commercial is obvious. Disclosure rules for fees differ by province, so confirm your regulator's form and timing before you sign a client.
Commercial is a pillar here, not a specialty someone dabbles in. The Deal Desk structures and places the commercial, B and alternative files you would otherwise refer away, while you stay the client's point of contact. It works in exchange for a commission split on that file, it is optional, and it is your call file by file.
There is no separate commercial licence. How residential mortgage agents move into commercial files: the skills, the lenders, how pay works and support.
Why commercial files are the fastest lever for a residential broker at $10 to $30 million, where the files already sit in your book, and how to start.
A practical path for residential brokers into commercial mortgages: which deals to start with, what lenders need and how an underwriting desk helps.
A commercial file at A.I.M.I. Collective, step by step: the first email, the 24 hour Deal Desk review, term sheet, reports, timeline and fee.
Bring a commercial file to a discovery call and we will walk through the fee, the brokerage share and the Deal Desk share before any work starts.