Rajiv Verma, Mortgage Broker
Licensed mortgage professional since 2012. Mortgage Broker since 2017. Before that, inside a major Canadian bank — which is where I learned why a financially responsible client can still fail to fit one lender’s guidelines.
The direct answer
I’m an independent mortgage broker in Ontario who works mostly on the files other people find difficult. Self-employed income, bruised credit, CRA arrears, B and private lending, and clients who have already been told no. I came to that deliberately, from a background inside a bank — where I saw how often a decline says more about one lender’s box than about the person in front of it. My job isn’t to end every conversation with a mortgage. It’s to work out what’s actually going on and what should happen next, even when the honest answer is to wait.
How I got here
Before mortgages, I worked in the Canadian banking industry — including life insurance and investments — with one of Canada’s major banks.
That experience gave me a good understanding of how financial institutions work from the inside: how products are structured, how policies are applied, and why even a financially responsible client may not fit within one bank’s lending guidelines.
In 2012 I became licensed as a Mortgage Agent, and I chose to work independently. I wanted to look at a client’s complete financial situation instead of being limited to the products of one bank.
My background in banking, insurance and investments also taught me something that still shapes how I work: a mortgage should never be considered in isolation. It affects cash flow, savings, retirement plans, debt management and a good deal else.
Over time I found myself drawn to the files that needed more investigation and more creative thinking — self-employed income, credit problems, B lending, private mortgages, CRA arrears, and clients who had already been told no. That is how I became the kind of broker I am today.
Agent, then Broker
I began as a Mortgage Agent in 2012 and became a licensed Mortgage Broker in 2017. These are separate licensing levels in Ontario, and the distinction is worth understanding.
Becoming a Broker involved additional education, experience and responsibility. It also reflected the kind of work I was already doing — reviewing complicated applications, comparing lending strategies, and looking beyond the immediate approval.
Today I work with Mortgage Architects, Brokerage Licence #12728, as a Mortgage Broker on the Tara Borle team. I also mentor and train newer agents on the team — that’s a role I take on, not a licence or a designation, and it’s part of why I think carefully about how a file gets built rather than just whether it gets approved.
In 2025 that Canada-wide team completed approximately $2.26 billion in total mortgage volume — a team figure across the country, not my personal production. What it means for a client is access to a large amount of shared lender knowledge, experience and collaboration.
I am licensed to arrange mortgages in Ontario. If you contact me from another province, I can connect and collaborate with an appropriately licensed member of the national team, so you’re supported under the correct provincial licensing.
Why not a bank
I’ve already worked inside a major bank, so I understand both the strengths and the limitations of that environment.
A bank employee is normally expected to find out whether a client fits that bank’s products. If the client doesn’t fit, there may be nowhere else for that employee to take the application.
I wanted to work differently. I wanted to begin with the client’s problem, not with one institution’s product list.
Mortgage Architects gives me access to a broad range of traditional, alternative and private lending options while still allowing me to provide personal, one-on-one service. You deal with me directly — from the first conversation through approval, closing, and the mortgage check-ups that follow. Not a call centre.
I try to give every client the same advice I would give to a member of my own family.
Why I take the difficult files
Because those are usually the people who most need a broker.
A salaried borrower with excellent credit and straightforward documents may have many places willing to help. But when someone is self-employed, has CRA arrears, bruised credit, several rental properties or an expensive private mortgage, a computer-generated decision rarely tells the complete story.
I have spoken with successful business owners who were declined by a bank and came away believing they were the problem. Sometimes the business is doing well — the income shown on the tax returns simply doesn’t fit that lender’s standard calculation.
That does not mean every difficult file should be approved.
Sometimes the right answer is to wait, rebuild the credit, file another tax year, pay down debt, sell a property, or reconsider the transaction altogether. Sometimes a B-lender or private mortgage is appropriate — but only if there is a reasonable plan to move into a better solution later.
I don’t see a difficult file as a collection of problems. I see it as a situation that needs to be understood before any solution is recommended.
Sometimes the right advice is to do nothing
It came from watching people pay penalties, lender fees, legal costs and higher interest simply because they felt they had to do something immediately.
Arranging a mortgage is not automatically the same as improving someone’s situation.
Sometimes refinancing is absolutely right. Sometimes a second mortgage solves a genuine short-term problem. But there are also situations where a client is better off waiting until renewal, paying down one account, correcting an error on the credit report, or completing another year of business income.
I operate independently because I want to be able to give that kind of advice. If doing nothing for three or six months saves a client thousands of dollars, or gets them into a better product, I’ll say so.
My responsibility is not to make every conversation end with a mortgage transaction. Sometimes doing nothing today is the first step toward a much better solution tomorrow.
The options, in the order I actually consider them
| Option | When it’s the right answer |
|---|---|
| 1. Stay put | The current rate is still strong, the penalty is too high, there’s no urgent need, or credit and income may improve soon |
| 2. Renew strategically | Treat renewal as a financial checkpoint rather than paperwork. The renewal answers |
| 3. Refinance | When it improves the whole picture — weighed against penalties, fees, rate and amortisation. The refinance answers |
| 4. Second mortgage | When the first is too good to break, or the funds are needed short-term. Rate and fees are higher, so it’s reviewed carefully |
| 5. B-lender / alternative | Self-employed, bruised credit, investors, strong equity or non-traditional income. Generally needs at least 20% down or equity — these are conventional uninsured mortgages |
| 6. Private mortgage | A short-term bridge, never a permanent plan, and only with a clear exit strategy. The private lending answers |
A file I turned away
One homeowner approached me about arranging a private second mortgage. There was enough equity in the property, so technically the mortgage could have been completed.
The client wanted to use the money to pay off credit cards and cover an ongoing monthly shortfall. But nothing in the household budget was going to change. No expected increase in income, no upcoming sale, no renewal strategy, and no realistic plan for repaying the private mortgage at the end of the term.
The mortgage would have created temporary breathing room. It would also have added interest, lender fees, brokerage costs and legal expenses while using up more of the family’s remaining equity.
I could not recommend that solution under those circumstances. I explained my concerns and encouraged the client to get independent advice on the household budget and overall debt situation first.
Having enough equity to obtain a mortgage does not automatically mean that taking the mortgage is the right decision.
Sometimes saying no protects more of a client’s future than arranging an approval would.
One file that mattered
A self-employed Ontario homeowner had ended up in private financing after income and credit difficulties.
Other people saw a difficult borrower with a private mortgage. I saw a business that was still operating, cash flow that was improving, and enough evidence to build a transition plan.
Instead of relying only on the tax returns, I reviewed the recent business activity, bank deposits, invoices, GST/HST information, property equity, credit history and existing obligations. We presented the complete story to an alternative lender rather than letting the whole application be reduced to one income number.
The solution moved the client out of expensive private financing into a more manageable B-lender mortgage. It dealt with some immediate obligations and set out a clear list of steps for eventually returning to traditional lending.
What mattered wasn’t the approval. It was that the client stopped seeing the private mortgage as a dead end. It became one stage in a planned transition toward a stronger position.
A mistake I made early on
I sometimes treated the approval as the finish line.
I believed that if I could get the mortgage and solve the immediate problem, I’d done my job. Experience taught me that an approval can still be a poor solution if the client doesn’t understand the total cost, or has no realistic way out of it.
That matters most with B-lender and private mortgages. Before placing anyone into short-term financing, I now want to know what should be different in six, twelve or twenty-four months. Will the credit improve? Will the CRA debt be cleared? Will there be another year of business income? Is a property being sold? Can the client realistically qualify for something better at maturity?
The advice I’d give a newer broker is simple: don’t begin with the lender. Begin with the client’s problem, timeline and exit plan.
What genuinely bothers me about this industry
People are too often reduced to a credit score, an income calculation or a rate advertisement.
A self-employed person can run a successful business and still be made to feel unsuccessful, because the income doesn’t appear on the tax returns in the way a particular lender requires.
A person with bruised credit may have been through an illness, a separation, a job loss or a temporary business problem — and the story behind the score may never be discussed at all.
I’m also concerned when expensive private financing is presented as an easy approval, without a serious conversation about the fees, the maturity risk and the exit strategy.
Even the obsession with advertising the lowest rate can mislead. A low rate attached to the wrong term, restrictive conditions or a large future penalty can cost far more in the end.
Clients deserve the complete explanation — including the parts that make the proposed transaction look less attractive.
The thing I most often have to un-teach
That the lowest interest rate automatically means the best mortgage.
The rate matters, but it’s one part of the mortgage. The lowest advertised rate may come with restrictive prepayment privileges, a large penalty, limited portability, an unfavourable refinance policy, or terms that don’t suit your plans.
A slightly different product may cost considerably less if you sell, refinance, move, or need to access equity before maturity.
I want clients to understand what comes with the rate — not just the number beside it. The best mortgage is the one that fits your complete situation and long-term needs. Sometimes that’s the lowest rate. Sometimes it isn’t.
What breaking a mortgage actually costs →
What I know now that I wish I’d known at the start
A mortgage decision is rarely only about today.
The mortgage you choose now affects the penalty to refinance, your ability to access equity, the options available at renewal, and even your next purchase.
I wish someone had told me earlier to look past the approval and ask one question: “What is likely to happen next?”
That question changes the whole conversation. The strongest solution isn’t always the one with the best-looking number today. It’s the one that still makes sense when your life changes.
If you’re nervous about calling
You don’t need to have everything figured out before you speak to me.
You may have already been declined. Your credit may not be perfect. Your tax returns may not show the real strength of your business. You may be worried you waited too long, or made a financial mistake.
Tell me the situation as it is.
I’m not here to judge you, lecture you, or push you into a mortgage. I’m here to understand what happened and help you see the options clearly. There may be an immediate solution. There may be a longer-term plan. Occasionally my advice will be not to proceed at all.
Whatever the answer is, I’ll explain the costs, risks, benefits and next steps in plain language. You should leave the conversation with more clarity than you had before it.
What clients thank me for is almost never the rate.
It’s being able to talk about a difficult financial situation without feeling embarrassed, pressured or judged — and being able to reach me directly, without explaining the whole story again to someone new every time.
People make better decisions when they’re comfortable enough to ask every question, including the ones they think sound basic.
English, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu
It can completely change the comfort level of a conversation.
Many clients communicate perfectly well in English but feel easier discussing money, family obligations or a difficult financial situation in the language they speak at home. When the conversation switches, people often explain details they were hesitant to mention before. They ask more questions, involve their family, and end up more confident in the decision.
It isn’t really about translating mortgage terminology. It’s about people feeling heard and understood.
I’ve also learned not to assume someone understood just because they nodded. Stop me, switch languages, and ask the same question as many times as you need to. A mortgage is far too important for anyone to leave a conversation pretending they followed it.
Brampton, and the rest of it
I’ve lived in Brampton for about twenty years. My home, my family, my business and most of my friends are here and in the surrounding GTA.
I’ve watched this area grow and change. I work with salaried families, newcomers, tradespeople, incorporated professionals, small-business owners, real estate investors and multigenerational households. The GTA isn’t a market area on my website. It’s where I live, work, raise my family and take part in the community.
Understanding that matters, because every household manages money differently. A mortgage strategy that works for one family may make no sense for the family next door.
I’m married and live in Brampton with my wife and our two children. As a family we like long drives, nature walks, Ontario’s beaches and parks, and finding quiet places away from the crowds — and road trips to other parts of Canada when we get the chance. At home I’m usually in the garden, watering plants, sitting outside with the kids, or on family movie night.
We also turn up to community functions, exhibitions and cultural events. Those connections keep me grounded — and they’re often where the best conversations happen.
What you can expect from me
I’m not a call centre, and I don’t want clients to feel like file numbers.
Personal involvement from the first conversation through closing and beyond. Options explained in plain language, with both the benefits and the risks. The same advice I’d give my own family.
And after the mortgage closes, the relationship should continue. Mortgage check-ups, newsletters and rate updates, so you can review whether your mortgage still suits what’s changed in your life.
Whether you need a mortgage now or just want informed advice for later, I’m happy to have the conversation.
Checking I’m real
An entirely reasonable thing to do before trusting anyone with your finances — and all of it is verifiable without my help:
- Licensed mortgage professional since 2012 · Mortgage Broker since 2017
- Mortgage Architects — FSRA Brokerage Licence #12728
- Over 100 Google reviews, plus verified client ratings on Rate-My-Agent — all of them are here
- Listed among the Top 3 Mortgage Brokers in Brampton by ThreeBestRated — a selection I didn’t pay for and can’t edit
- A real office — 15 Gateway Blvd, Unit 201-4, Brampton, ON L6T 0G3
- Office 289.505.0631 · Direct 647.291.7116
The library is the best introduction
You don’t have to take my word for how I work. There are 57 answers on this site, written the way I’d answer them on the phone — including the parts that are bad news, and the sections on when something is the wrong move for you.
Read a few. If they sound like someone you’d want handling your file, get in touch. If they don’t, you’ve lost nothing and you still have the answer.
Simplify your mortgage search
Before you act, talk to Rajiv first. Tell me what you’re trying to achieve — not what product you want. The first conversation is free, and if the honest answer is to wait, you’ll get that instead.
Book a free consultation