A brokerage is paid through the split on each file plus, at many brokerages, fixed fees: desk, transaction, technology, royalty and sometimes processing. The real cost is the total at your volume.
Brokerages are paid two ways. The first is the split: the share of each commission the brokerage keeps, which varies with volume and model. The second is fees, which vary far more: a monthly desk fee, a per file transaction fee, a technology or platform fee, a network royalty, sometimes a processing charge per file, and errors and omissions insurance. Some brokerages charge none of these and keep a larger split; some charge several and advertise a high split.
The only honest comparison is total cost at your volume. A broker funding thirty files a year pays fixed fees thirty times; a broker funding a hundred spreads them thinner. Put your last twelve months through each offer, every line included, and compare what you keep.
Then weigh what the cost buys. Processing, compliance, an underwriter and top tier lender status are worth paying for. A fee for tools you would not choose is not.
We publish how to compare us with everyone else because the comparison holds up. Every fee is in writing before you sign. Lender status is top tier from your first submission. Processing, compliance and payroll are carried at head office. The portal is included; BrokerDam is a paid CRM at a member rate, never a bundle. Compensation is top tier and competitive, set against your volume, and worked through on a discovery call with your last twelve months in front of us. We provide the infrastructure. You build the book.
The full guide, with the detail and the numbers.
Net income, not split: how to compare offersSix things that decide whether a new mortgage agent funds files in year one: training, a mentor, lender status, underwriting support and a 90 day plan.
Ten brand names, three parent companies. Who owns what in Canada's mortgage brokerage networks and how that changes the way you read a recruiting pitch.
Most recruiting pitches compete on one number. A framework for comparing brokerages on what lands in your account after fees, royalties and lender status.
Bring your questions to a discovery call and a broker owner will answer them directly.