The Growing Demand for Purpose-Built Rentals
Canada's rental housing shortage has placed purpose-built rentals in the spotlight. With affordability pressures, a shifting market environment, and persistent demand from renters, developers are increasingly turning to multi-family construction as a long-term, stable investment. In this environment, brokers play a critical role, navigating financing, site acquisition, and structuring deals that align with government programs like CMHC’s MLI Select.
CMHC MLI Select: A Game Changer for Multi-Unit Financing
The CMHC MLI Select program provides insured financing with favorable terms—including 50-year amortizations, higher loan-to-value ratios (up to 95% sometimes), and below prime interest rates —for projects that prioritize affordability, energy efficiency, and accessibility. For developers, it opens the door to building smarter, longer-term housing. For brokers like Meta Realty, this creates a specialized, high-stakes environment where navigating the deal structure and CMHC qualification requirements becomes a true valuable expertise.
But there’s a catch: broker commissions on these deals often come with long timelines.
The Cash Flow Gap for Brokers
Commercial real estate brokers facilitating multi-family transactions under MLI Select frequently face delays in receiving their commissions. It can take months to finalize underwriting to obtain CMHC’s Certificate of Insurance (COI), satisfy other documentation requirements, and wait for 6-18months till construction completes for final title transfer. For brokers, this delay means tying up time, energy, and capital without immediate compensation—even on multi-million dollar deals.
This is where iCommission advances offer a strategic solution.
iCommission: Supporting Brokers in Purpose-Built Transactions
Unlike most commission advance companies who have explicitly said NO to commercial advance due to its underwriting complexities; at iCommission, we understand the uniqueness of commercial real estate backed by CoStar’s comprehensive data capabilities - especially with multifamily transactions and those that are backed by CMHC MLI Select Program.
Our Commission Advance Program helps commercial brokers:
✅ Access working capital upfront after deal firming before closing (subject to full underwriting)
✅ Smartly budget operational expenses while waiting for disbursement
✅ Take on more deals without being financially tied up
✅ Scale business confidently while navigating longer transaction timelines
Whether you’re facilitating a $10M apartment development sale under CMHC MLI Select in Alberta or helping with a traditional multifamily sale in Ontario, iCommission provides brokers with the liquidity they need when they need it most.
Why iCommission Advances Are Especially Valuable for MLI Select Deals
MLI Select deals require extensive knowledge and data from underwriting perspective to make sure the subject deal can actually close and commission receivables to be disbursed after completion.This makes the due diligence more complex and technical than a standard commercial transaction. No many commission advance companies can understand and be comfortable with the risks associated with these deals. The result? Even though your commission is contractually secured, your payout is delayed but you may not be able to get an advance easily in the Canadian marketplace..
That’s where iCommission comes in - by securing an advance on your earned MLI Select commission, you maintain consistent cash flow, reduce financial stress, and stay focused on delivering value to your clients - not worrying about when you’ll get paid.
The Canadian rental market is evolving, and purpose-built multi-unit developments are leading the way. With CMHC’s MLI Select program offering unprecedented opportunities for builders and lenders, brokers are in a prime position to shape the future of housing—if they have the financial flexibility to do so.
Let iCommission be your cash flow partner in these complex, high-value deals.
💼 Ready to Get Started?
Submit your commercial transaction for a commission advance today at iCommission.ca, and keep your business moving forward—deal after deal.
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