We Lend Our Own Money. Which Means We Make Our Own Decisions.
Most mortgage brokers can only offer what their lenders will approve. We’re a private lender as well as a brokerage, which means your application goes directly to the people funding it. When your situation doesn’t fit the banks’ checklist, we look at what actually matters: the property, the equity, the plan, not just the credit score and the T4. If there’s a viable path, we’ll find it. If there isn’t, we’ll tell you that.
There Are More Paths Than the Bank Showed You.
Private lending exists because conventional lenders use criteria that don’t reflect every borrower’s actual situation. Here are the ones we see most often.
Banks lend based on verifiable T4 income. Self-employed borrowers often show lower income on paper than they earn in practice, and conventional lenders penalise that. We look at the full picture, not just what one document says.
A past bankruptcy, consumer proposal, or run of missed payments can close a lot of doors. Private lending looks primarily at the property’s value and your equity position, not a credit score that doesn’t tell the full story. It can serve as a bridge while you rebuild your conventional application.
Private mortgage approvals can happen in days rather than weeks. If you’re competing for a property, working to a hard deadline, or simply can’t afford to wait, we move at the speed the situation requires.
Rural properties, unique builds, mixed-use conversions, and properties with deferred maintenance can struggle to pass conventional lender appraisal criteria. We assess the asset directly, making lending decisions based on what the property is actually worth rather than what a formula says it should be.
Buying before you sell, or waiting on delayed proceeds, creates a financing gap that conventional lenders won’t always bridge. A short-term private mortgage covers that gap cleanly, without forcing you to lose a purchase opportunity or sell under pressure.
Newcomers to Canada often arrive with solid finances and no Canadian credit history. Conventional lenders see the gap; we see the full picture. Private lending can bridge that gap while your credit history here gets established.
Different Criteria. Faster Decisions. A Clear Exit Strategy.
The mechanics are familiar. You borrow money, the loan is secured against your property, and you make regular payments. What’s different is how the lender assesses the risk. Conventional lenders run your application through a standardised qualification process. Private lenders focus primarily on the property’s value and the loan-to-value ratio (the relationship between what you’re borrowing and what the asset is worth). If there’s enough equity, the deal is often viable regardless of what tripped up your conventional application.
Private mortgages typically carry higher interest rates than conventional mortgages, and terms are usually shorter, commonly one to two years rather than five. That’s not a flaw; it’s the design. Most borrowers use private lending as a bridge, a way to get into a property or solve an immediate problem while they work toward qualifying for conventional financing. We build that exit strategy into every private mortgage we arrange, so you know from day one what the path forward looks like.
In-House Capital, In-House Decisions
Great Pacific funds private mortgages directly. There’s no third party to convince, no committee to wait on. We make decisions quickly because the people assessing the deal are the people whose money is at stake.
Days, Not Weeks
When time is part of the problem, private lending is often part of the solution. We can move from initial conversation to approval in days for straightforward situations with sufficient equity.
If It Won't Work, We'll Tell You
Not every situation has a viable private lending solution. We’d rather tell you that clearly, with a full explanation, than take your application money and come back with a decline two weeks later.
Private Lending as a Bridge, Not a Destination
Every private mortgage we arrange includes a conventional exit plan from day one: what needs to happen, whether that’s credit repair, income documentation, or refinancing, and over what timeline. You know exactly where the bridge leads before you cross it.
Faster Than You Think. Clearer Than You've Experienced.
Tell Us the Situation
A 20-minute conversation is enough to understand the property, the equity position, the timeline, and what’s made conventional financing difficult. Before you’ve committed to anything or paid any fees, you’ll know whether private lending is a real option for your situation.
We Assess the Deal
Private lending assessment focuses on the property and the equity. We’ll need a property valuation, basic identification, and details on any existing debt secured against the property. The documentation requirements are simpler than a conventional application, which is part of why private lending moves faster.
Clear Terms, No Surprises
If we can do the deal, we come back with clear terms: the rate, the term, the fees, and the total cost. We explain everything before you sign anything. Private mortgages carry higher costs than conventional. We explain exactly what you’re agreeing to before you sign anything, so you can make that call yourself.
Fund and Plan the Exit
Once the mortgage is in place, we don’t disappear. We stay in contact about your progress toward the conventional exit: a credit score milestone, a refinancing conversation at renewal, or a change in your income documentation. The bridge should lead somewhere, and we make sure it does.
What People Ask Before They Call Us
Private lending raises more questions than other mortgage types — mostly because it’s less familiar. Here are the ones we hear most, answered before the conversation starts.
How much does a private mortgage cost compared to a conventional one?
More. Private mortgages carry higher interest rates than conventional mortgages — typically several percentage points higher — and may include lender and broker fees that conventional mortgages don’t. The exact cost depends on the loan-to-value ratio, the property, the term, and the specific risk factors in your application. We give you a complete cost picture before you commit to anything, including total interest and fees. For most borrowers, the relevant comparison isn’t “private vs. conventional rate” — it’s “what does this cost me over 12 months” versus the alternative, whether that’s losing a purchase opportunity, selling under pressure, or waiting while the situation worsens.
Is a private mortgage the same as a predatory or hard-money loan?
No. Private mortgages in BC are regulated under the Mortgage Brokers Act and must be arranged by a licensed broker. Great Pacific is licensed by the BCFSA, and all mortgages we arrange — including private ones — are subject to those regulations. The rates are higher than conventional, but the terms are transparent, the process is regulated, and our interest is in finding a solution that actually works for you — not just closing a file. If you’ve had experiences with unregulated lenders in other jurisdictions, the BC regulated environment is meaningfully different.
How quickly can a private mortgage be arranged?
What happens at the end of my private mortgage term?
You have three options: refinance into a conventional mortgage if you now qualify, renew the private mortgage for another term if your situation hasn’t changed, or sell the property and repay the loan from the proceeds. Most borrowers aim for the first option — qualifying for conventional financing within the private term. We build a realistic plan toward that outcome at the start. If circumstances change during the term, we talk through your options well before renewal rather than leaving it to the last minute.
I've been declined by a bank. Does that affect my private mortgage application?
Not in the way you might expect. A bank decline doesn’t affect your private mortgage assessment the way it might affect another conventional application. Private lending is assessed on different criteria — primarily the property and the equity. The reason for the bank decline matters to us because it helps us understand your situation and structure the mortgage correctly, but it’s not a disqualifying factor in itself. Tell us what happened and we’ll give you an honest assessment of whether private lending is a fit.
