Dominion Lending CentresPart of the DLCG, Canada's #1 mortgage originator · $84.5B in 2025.
Commercial · Private Capital

Private commercial mortgages.

First and second mortgages and bridge loans — for the commercial files that need speed, story-tolerance, or both. BC and Alberta, exit built in.

Commercial building facades in glass and brick

Commercial real estate creates its value in exactly the windows institutional lending can't serve: the vacant building priced for its problems, the maturity the bank won't renew, the closing that rewards whoever can actually close. Private commercial capital exists for those windows — priced for risk and speed, structured short and open, and pointed from day one at the only respectable destination: a refinance into cheaper money once the plan has become a rent roll.

What we fund

The windows banks can't serve.

Urgent closings

The deal that funds in weeks or dies — private commercial capital moves at transaction speed.

Value-add & repositioning

Vacancy, renovation, or tenant turnover carried until the income is real, then refinanced.

Commercial seconds

Equity behind an existing commercial first — capital without disturbing good senior debt.

Land & pre-development

Dirt and entitlement carry — covered in depth on our land acquisition page.

Distressed & workout files

Maturities the lender won't renew, arrears, receivership purchases — stabilized under new capital.

Non-bankable sponsors

Credit events, tax years in flight, or structures banks can't read — the asset carries the file.

Escaping a private commercial mortgage you're already in? That's our private-to-institutional refinance page.

Lender comparison

First, second — and the exit.

Private first mortgage
Best for: Acquisitions and refinances that can't wait for — or won't fit — institutional underwriting
Leverage: Up to 70–75% of as-is or as-complete value
Rate: 8.5%–13% with a 1.5%–3% lender fee; interest-only, interest reserve often capitalized
Term: 6–24 months, open after 3–6 months
DSCR: Asset-based — the exit strategy is underwritten more than current cash flow

The workhorse: senior capital priced for speed and story-tolerance. The interest reserve keeps a cash-tight asset from feeding payments mid-plan.

Private second mortgage
Best for: Pulling equity while a good commercial first stays exactly where it is
Leverage: First and second combined to ~70–75% of value
Rate: Priced above first-position private, per the risk stack
Term: 6–24 months, open after a short closed period
DSCR: Equity-based behind the senior lender

The surgical option for commercial owners: the 4% first survives untouched, the second funds the renovation, the tax bill, or the next deposit.

The institutional exit
Best for: Every private commercial file — this lane is the plan, not an option
Leverage: Conventional to 65–75% LTV; CMHC-insured multi-family where the asset qualifies
Rate: GoC + 150–250 bps conventional; insured spreads inside that
Term: 1–10 year terms at stabilization
DSCR: Full underwriting on the stabilized numbers — typically 12–24 months of trailing performance

Private commercial money is a phase. The refinance out — conventional or CMHC — is designed before funding, priced into the plan, and executed the quarter the trailing numbers support it.

Rates, fees, and leverage are typical ranges for illustration — last reviewed July 2026 — and private commercial pricing moves with the asset, the story, and the market; everything is confirmed in writing before you commit. Estimate costs with the commercial fee calculator.

Case Studies

Files like yours.

Case studies for this category are being added — check back soon. In the meantime, see how we structure real files on our case studies page.
Private commercial FAQ

Common private-capital questions.

When does private commercial money make sense?+

Four moments, mostly: a closing that can't wait for committee season, an asset whose income isn't real yet (vacancy, renovation, lease-up), a sponsor or structure banks can't read, or a maturity the incumbent lender won't renew. Pricing runs 8.5%–13% with a 1.5%–3% fee — expensive against a bank, cheap against a lost building.

What does 'underwritten to the exit' actually mean?+

The lender cares less about today's rent roll than about how the loan ends: the refinance at stabilization, the sale, the take-out. A stabilized coverage ratio of 1.0x or lower can still close if the exit is credible — which is why the plan you bring matters more than the vacancy you have.

How fast can private commercial capital close?+

Plan on 10–25 days with an appraisal in hand — valuation and legal work set the pace, not credit committees. On genuine emergencies, the first advance aims at whatever keeps the asset alive: the arrears, the trades, the payout deadline.

Can I get a second mortgage on my commercial property?+

Yes — private commercial seconds fund equity take-outs behind an existing first, combined to roughly 70–75% of value. It's the standard play when your senior debt is too cheap or too penalized to break but the building's equity has a job to do.

How do I get from private pricing back to bank pricing?+

Stabilize and season: 12–24 months of trailing performance — rent roll, leases, clean operating numbers — plus a current appraisal and Phase I, then the file places conventionally or CMHC-insured where the asset qualifies. It's the most common file we run, and the exit is designed on day one, not discovered at maturity.

Is private commercial lending regulated and safe to use?+

The brokering of it is fully regulated — licensed brokerages, written disclosure of every rate and fee before you commit, and independent legal advice as standard. The discipline that keeps it safe is structural: short terms, open periods, honest leverage, and a written exit. Files without those aren't files we place.

File preparation

Need commercial capital moving? Have these ready.

Bring the honest version — vacancy, arrears, and all. Private lenders price stories; they decline surprises.

Talk to a specialist

The window won't wait. Neither do we.

The property, the pressure, and the plan — send those three and we'll price the private phase and its exit the same day.