Ontario Mortgage Agent L2 key terms
Ontario Mortgage Agent L2 · Get comfortable with the vocabulary.
- Mortgage Brokerage Licence
- Related: Mortgage Agent Licence, Principal Broker
A provincial authorization issued by the regulator that allows a business entity to deal in mortgages in Ontario, covering the firm's principals and its supervised agents and brokers.
- Mortgage Agent Licence
- Related: Mortgage Brokerage Licence, Principal Broker
A personal provincial credential permitting an individual to arrange mortgages on behalf of a licensed brokerage under supervision, subject to education, good-character, and renewal requirements.
- Principal Broker
- Related: Mortgage Brokerage Licence, Conflict of Interest Disclosure
The individual designated to oversee a brokerage's mortgage operations, responsible for supervising agents, ensuring compliance, and maintaining records and trust-account controls.
- Fiduciary Duty
- Related: Conflict of Interest Disclosure, Duty of Care
The legal obligation of an agent to act in the client's best interest ahead of personal gain, requiring loyalty, full disclosure, confidentiality, and avoidance of undisclosed self-dealing.
- Conflict of Interest Disclosure
- Related: Fiduciary Duty, Referral Fee Disclosure
A written statement to the client revealing any personal or financial interest an agent or brokerage has in a lender, product, or transaction that could bias the recommendation.
- Referral Fee Disclosure
- Related: Conflict of Interest Disclosure, Cost of Borrowing Disclosure
The requirement to tell a client in writing about compensation received for referring them to another party, including the amount or basis of the payment.
- Cost of Borrowing Disclosure
- Related: Referral Fee Disclosure, Commitment Letter
A written statement given to the borrower before commitment that sets out the interest rate, fees, charges, prepayment terms, and total cost of the mortgage credit.
- Anti-Money Laundering Compliance
- Related: Know Your Client Rule, Suspicious Transaction Report
The set of identity-verification, record-keeping, and suspicious-transaction reporting duties imposed on mortgage professionals to prevent proceeds of crime from entering the housing market.
- Know Your Client Rule
- Related: Anti-Money Laundering Compliance, Suitability Assessment
The obligation to gather and verify information about a borrower's identity, goals, finances, and risk tolerance before recommending or arranging any mortgage product.
- Suitability Assessment
- Related: Know Your Client Rule, Fiduciary Duty
The analysis that a recommended mortgage fits the borrower's stated objectives, affordability, time horizon, and tolerance for risk, documented to support the advice given.
- Duty of Care
- Related: Fiduciary Duty, Suitability Assessment
The standard requiring an agent to apply reasonable skill, diligence, and knowledge when advising a client, including verifying facts rather than relying on assumptions.
- Open Mortgage
- Related: Closed Mortgage, Prepayment Privilege
A mortgage that permits the borrower to repay all or part of the balance at any time without a prepayment penalty, usually carrying a higher interest rate.
- Closed Mortgage
- Related: Open Mortgage, Interest Rate Differential Penalty
A mortgage that restricts early repayment, so paying more than the allowed prepayment amount triggers a penalty calculated from the interest-rate differential or a set formula.
- High-Ratio Mortgage
- Related: Mortgage Default Insurance, Loan-to-Value Ratio
A loan secured by a home where the loan exceeds eighty percent of the property's value, requiring default insurance and subject to stricter qualification rules.
- Mortgage Default Insurance
- Related: High-Ratio Mortgage, Loan-to-Value Ratio
Coverage that protects the lender, not the borrower, against loss when a high-ratio borrower defaults, with the premium typically added to the mortgage balance.
- Home Equity Line of Credit
- Related: Second Mortgage, Loan-to-Value Ratio
A revolving facility secured by home equity that lets the borrower draw, repay, and redraw funds up to a limit, usually with interest-only minimum payments.
- Second Mortgage
- Related: Home Equity Line of Credit, Loan-to-Value Ratio
A loan registered behind a first charge on the same property, ranking lower for repayment and therefore priced higher because of the added lender risk.
- Primary Mortgage Market
- Related: Secondary Mortgage Market, Mortgage-Backed Securities
The stage where borrowers obtain funds directly from lenders such as banks, credit unions, or monoline lenders, creating the mortgage that may later be sold.
- Secondary Mortgage Market
- Related: Primary Mortgage Market, Mortgage-Backed Securities
The market where existing mortgages are bought and sold or pooled into securities, supplying lenders with fresh capital to fund new loans.
- Mortgage-Backed Securities
- Related: Secondary Mortgage Market, Securitization
Investments whose payments derive from a pool of mortgages, allowing investors to receive scheduled principal and interest collected from the underlying borrowers.
- Securitization
- Related: Mortgage-Backed Securities, Secondary Mortgage Market
The process of bundling loans into tradable securities so that illiquid mortgage assets can be sold to investors, freeing lender capital for further lending.
- Gross Debt Service Ratio
- Related: Total Debt Service Ratio, Stress Test
The share of gross household income consumed by housing costs, including mortgage principal and interest, property taxes, heating, and half of condo fees where applicable.
- Total Debt Service Ratio
- Related: Gross Debt Service Ratio, Stress Test
The share of gross household income used for all housing costs plus other debt payments such as car loans, credit cards, and personal lines of credit.
- Stress Test
- Related: Gross Debt Service Ratio, Total Debt Service Ratio
A qualification rule requiring borrowers to show they could afford payments at a higher qualifying rate than the contract rate, building a buffer against rate increases.
- Loan-to-Value Ratio
- Related: High-Ratio Mortgage, Mortgage Default Insurance
The mortgage amount divided by the property's appraised or purchase value, expressed as a percentage, used to gauge lender exposure and insurance needs.
- Credit Bureau Score
- Related: Credit Report, Derogatory Item
A numeric rating derived from a borrower's repayment history, balances, and credit inquiries that predicts the likelihood of future default within a defined period.
- Credit Report
- Related: Credit Bureau Score, Derogatory Item
A detailed record from a credit reporting agency listing a borrower's accounts, balances, payment history, inquiries, and public records used in underwriting decisions.
- Derogatory Item
- Related: Credit Report, Credit Bureau Score
An adverse entry on a credit file such as a missed payment, collection account, judgment, or bankruptcy that lowers the score and may require explanation or remediation.
- Appraisal
- Related: Comparative Market Analysis, Loan-to-Value Ratio
An independent professional opinion of a property's market value at a stated date, supported by comparable sales and inspection of the subject property's condition and features.
- Comparative Market Analysis
- Related: Appraisal, Collateral
A valuation approach that adjusts recent nearby sale prices for differences in size, condition, and features, used to estimate a subject property's likely selling price.
- Collateral
- Related: Charge, Power of Sale
The asset pledged to secure a loan, which the lender may realize upon default; for mortgages the real property and its registered charge serve this role.
- Charge
- Related: Collateral, Power of Sale
The registered legal interest in land that secures repayment of a mortgage debt, allowing the lender to enforce against the property if the borrower defaults.
- Title Search
- Related: Charge, Title Insurance
A review of the land registry records to confirm ownership, identify registered encumbrances, liens, or easements, and verify that the lender's charge will rank as expected.
- Title Insurance
- Related: Title Search, Collateral
A policy protecting the lender or owner against losses from title defects, fraud, survey problems, or undisclosed encumbrances discovered after the transaction closes.
- Underwriting
- Related: Loan-to-Value Ratio, Documentation Fraud
The lender's assessment of risk that reviews income, credit, assets, down payment source, and property value before approving or declining a mortgage application.
- Documentation Fraud
- Related: Income Verification, Underwriting
The submission or acceptance of altered, forged, or fabricated records such as pay stubs, tax notices, or bank statements to obtain mortgage approval.
- Income Verification
- Related: Documentation Fraud, Underwriting
The process of confirming a borrower's earnings through independent sources such as employment letters, tax filings, bank deposits, or third-party verification services.
- Commitment Letter
- Related: Cost of Borrowing Disclosure, Mortgage Instructions
A written lender offer setting out the approved loan amount, rate, term, conditions, and expiry, which the borrower accepts to proceed to closing.
- Mortgage Instructions
- Related: Charge, Commitment Letter
Directions sent by the lender to the lawyer or notary describing how funds are to be advanced, the charge to be registered, and conditions to satisfy before payout.
- Amortization Period
- Related: Amortization Schedule, Payment Frequency
The total time scheduled to repay a mortgage fully through regular blended payments, which determines how much of each payment is interest versus principal.
- Amortization Schedule
- Related: Amortization Period, Prepayment Privilege
A table showing each scheduled payment's split between interest and principal and the remaining balance, illustrating how equity builds over the loan's life.
- Payment Frequency
- Related: Amortization Period, Prepayment Privilege
How often mortgage payments are made, such as monthly, biweekly, or weekly, with accelerated options increasing total annual payments and shortening amortization.
- Prepayment Privilege
- Related: Closed Mortgage, Interest Rate Differential Penalty
A contractual right allowing a borrower to repay a set percentage of the original balance each year, or increase payments, without incurring a penalty.
- Interest Rate Differential Penalty
- Related: Closed Mortgage, Prepayment Privilege
A charge on early payout of a fixed-rate closed mortgage approximating the lender's lost interest, computed by comparing the contract rate with current rates for the remaining term.
- Power of Sale
- Related: Notice of Sale, Foreclosure
A remedy allowing a lender to sell a defaulting borrower's property under the registered charge, following required notices, to recover the outstanding debt.
- Notice of Sale
- Related: Power of Sale, Redemption Period
The formal written warning a lender must serve on a defaulting borrower and other affected parties before exercising a power of sale, stating the default and redemption period.
- Redemption Period
- Related: Notice of Sale, Power of Sale
The time allowed after a notice of sale during which the borrower may cure the default or pay the full amount owed to stop the lender's enforcement proceedings.
- Foreclosure
- Related: Power of Sale, Redemption Period
A court process in which the lender takes title to the mortgaged property rather than selling it, extinguishing the borrower's equity of redemption.
- Collections
- Related: Arrears, Power of Sale
The lender's structured efforts to recover overdue payments, ranging from reminders and contact plans to legal enforcement, governed by fair-treatment and privacy rules.
- Arrears
- Related: Collections, Notice of Sale
The amount of scheduled mortgage payments that are overdue and unpaid, usually tracked in days or months and a key trigger for collection activity.
- Commercial Mortgage
- Related: Debt Service Coverage Ratio, Cap Rate
A loan secured by income-producing property such as retail, office, or industrial real estate, underwritten primarily on the property's rental income and lease quality.
- Debt Service Coverage Ratio
- Related: Commercial Mortgage, Net Operating Income
A property's net operating income divided by its annual debt service, showing how comfortably rental income covers mortgage payments; lenders typically require a margin above one.
- Net Operating Income
- Related: Debt Service Coverage Ratio, Cap Rate
A property's effective rental revenue less operating expenses such as taxes, insurance, maintenance, and management, before mortgage payments and income tax.
- Cap Rate
- Related: Net Operating Income, Commercial Mortgage
A property's net operating income divided by its market value or price, used to compare investment yields and to convert income into an indicated value.
- Construction Financing
- Related: Bridge Financing, Commercial Mortgage
Short-term advances released in stages as building work progresses, secured by the project and repaid from sale proceeds or take-out permanent financing.
- Bridge Financing
- Related: Construction Financing, Commitment Letter
Short-term interim borrowing that covers a gap, such as the period between buying a new home and receiving proceeds from the sale of the old one.