What is the financing program?

The financing program is a service offered by Sphera Credit, a Canadian technology company, in partnership with general contractors to help you explore financing options for the project you have in mind, whether or not you decide to use any of them. The program is free for you and obligates you to nothing.1

Is my project eligible?

Here are the types of projects eligible for the program:

Residential projects

Renovations, additions and remodels estimated at over $50,000.

New constructions

Ground-up builds, from foundation to handover.

Commercial and industrial

Business premises and industrial projects, at any scale.

The program is currently available in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.2

How does the financing program work?

You signal your interest

Participating general contractors offer the program on the quotes they prepare. If you're interested, simply check the box3 to this effect.

Sphera Credit takes care of finding a licensed professional for your project

The Sphera Credit team introduces you to a mortgage broker4 in your region, a licensed professional who knows your local market and specializes in the type of project you're planning.

You and your mortgage broker explore financing options together

Your broker guides you through financing options and answers your questions: down payment, qualification, and the terms available to you.

Why work with a mortgage broker?

A mortgage broker is a professional who holds a professional license5 giving them the right to deal in mortgages. That license is what gives them the legal right to advise you on mortgage financing options and to negotiate with lenders on your behalf. Their role is to understand your project and your finances, then shop the market for you and compare what several lenders are willing to offer, so your decision rests on what is actually available to you rather than on a single institution's offer. They can help whether or not your financing is already in place.

If you don't have financing yet

Your broker becomes your single point of contact with banks and financial institutions. Their role is to shop the market on your behalf and find the best deal6 for your financing needs. You talk to one person, not five lenders.

If you already have financing in place

A broker can review what you have in place and confirm whether it's the best deal currently available on the market. If it is, you'll know for sure, and if it isn't, you'll know what you're leaving on the table.

What if I already have financing?

Talking to a broker costs nothing and commits you to nothing, and it can pay off whether your financing is arranged or you planned to pay from savings.

Already arranged with your bank?

Contacting a mortgage broker obligates you to nothing. It simply lets you find out whether you currently have access to the best deal on the market6. If you already do, you'll have the peace of mind of knowing it.

Planning to pay from savings?

Money kept in a TFSA or RRSP can often generate more in market returns7 than a loan costs in interest. Your financial planner is the person best positioned to advise you on whether that holds for your situation, and your mortgage broker can then help you arrange the financing accordingly.

What could I save?

Lenders do not all offer the same rate to the same borrower, so the first rate you are offered is not necessarily the best one you could get. Here is what a single percentage point can be worth on a project of this size. The example8 below compares a $250,000 refinancing at 5% with the same refinancing at 4%, both amortized over 10 years.

At 5.00%

$2,652

Monthly payment, with $68,197 in total interest over 10 years.

At 4.00%

$2,531

Monthly payment, with $53,735 in total interest over 10 years.

The difference

$14,461

Saved in interest over the term, about $120 less each month.

Illustrative arithmetic on assumed rates, not a rate offered to you.

$0

What does it cost?

Nothing. The program is completely free for you, and it obligates you to nothing.1

Paid for by mortgage brokers who advertise with us, not by you.

No fees · No commitment

About Sphera Credit

Sphera Credit is a Canadian technology company founded by two entrepreneurs from Montreal, Quebec, with backgrounds in engineering and finance, and you can learn more about the company and its founders.

We build software for mortgage brokers and financial institutions, and we offer lead generation services to those same clients.

The financing program is part of that lead generation service. Our role is limited to connecting people who ask to explore financing with a licensed mortgage broker in their province.4

Head office in Toronto, Ontario · (289) 672-3047

Important information

  1. The program is free to you. You pay Sphera Credit nothing, you sign nothing, and you are not agreeing to borrow. Sphera Credit is an advertising and marketing service for mortgage brokers. Brokers pay in advance for access to its advertising network, in the same way a business pays for advertising anywhere else. What they pay is set before any introduction is made and does not change with whether you obtain financing, how much you borrow, or what rate you are offered. Sphera Credit is paid nothing by you and nothing by any lender. If you go on to arrange a mortgage, the broker is normally compensated by the lender you choose, as brokers usually are. The financing itself is not offered or managed by Sphera Credit. Any mortgage or loan you enter into is an agreement between you and a lender, it carries interest, and it may carry other fees and charges set by that lender. ↩
  2. Being eligible for the program means only that Sphera Credit can introduce you to a mortgage broker. It is not an approval, a pre-approval, or any indication that financing will be available to you or on what terms. Only a lender can approve financing. Availability by province may change. ↩
  3. If you check the box, your general contractor's quoting software sends your name, phone number, email address and the address of this project to Sphera Credit, a company separate from your contractor. Sphera Credit uses that information only to introduce you to a licensed mortgage broker who advertises through its network, and to confirm that introduction with you. You can withdraw at any time by writing to privacy@spheracredit.com, and you can read how your information is handled in our privacy policy. ↩
  4. Sphera Credit is not a lender and is not a mortgage brokerage. It is not licensed or registered to deal in mortgages in any province and does not carry on mortgage brokerage activity. It does not lend money, does not offer or present mortgage products, does not assess your financial situation, does not negotiate with lenders, and does not provide mortgage, financial or investment advice. Sphera Credit sells advertising and marketing services to licensed mortgage brokers. Its role in this program is limited to putting you in contact with a licensed mortgage broker who advertises through its network and who works in your province. Which broker you are introduced to depends on the province you are in and the type of project described in your quote, and not on any assessment of you or of your finances. Any advice about your financing comes from the licensed mortgage broker you choose to speak with, and any decision to work with that broker is yours alone. ↩
  5. Mortgage brokers are licensed or registered by the financial services regulator of their province: the Autorité des marchés financiers in Quebec, which issues a certificate in the mortgage brokerage sector; the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario; the BC Financial Services Authority in British Columbia; and the Real Estate Council of Alberta. Each of those links leads to that regulator's own public register, and you can and should confirm any broker's status there before sharing financial information with them. Those regulators oversee mortgage brokers. They do not license, endorse or supervise Sphera Credit. ↩
  6. No mortgage broker has access to every lender in Canada, and some lenders deal only directly with borrowers. A broker compares what the lenders they work with are prepared to offer on your file. Words such as "best deal" refer to the best of the offers that broker is able to obtain for you, not to a guarantee that no better offer exists anywhere in the market. ↩
  7. This is a general observation, not advice, and it is not a prediction. Investment returns are not guaranteed and can be negative, while interest on a loan is payable regardless of how your investments perform. Whether borrowing rather than drawing on savings makes sense for you depends on your tax situation, your risk tolerance and your circumstances. Sphera Credit is not registered to advise on securities or on investments and does not do so. Speak to a financial planner or a registered adviser before acting on this. ↩
  8. The example is an illustration of arithmetic, not a claim about results. Sphera Credit has not measured, and does not claim, that a mortgage broker obtains a rate one percentage point better than a bank. The rates shown are assumed for the purpose of the calculation, they are not rates offered by anyone, they are not annual percentage rates, and no fees or charges are included. The figures assume a fixed rate held for the full 10 years, which is longer than a typical Canadian mortgage term, so a real file would normally renew one or more times at rates that are not knowable today. On these assumptions the total repaid would be $318,197 at 5% and $303,735 at 4%. Your own rate depends on the lender, your credit, your equity, the property, the term and market conditions at the time you apply, and it may be higher or lower than either figure shown. This is not an offer of credit, a quote, or financial, mortgage or investment advice, and Sphera Credit does not offer credit. Do not make a financing decision on the basis of this example. ↩