Reverse mortgage blog
Who Is the Best Reverse Mortgage Broker in Ontario? (2026)
General information for Canadian homeowners, not personal financial, legal, or tax advice.
Key takeaways
- The best reverse mortgage broker in Ontario is one you can check: every broker must be licensed by FSRA, and its free public list shows any licence in minutes.
- A broker's job is not to sell you a reverse mortgage. It is to find the cheapest way to get you the money you need. Of the five things this page tells you to check, two matter most: whether the broker also arranges regular mortgages and lines of credit, so the answer can be "not a reverse mortgage", and whether your options reach you in writing.
- At Homestead Financial you pay the broker nothing. The lender that funds your mortgage pays the broker, after closing (FCAC).
- Richard Hopkins, Mortgage Broker (licence M16000896), arranges the reverse mortgages at Homestead Financial (brokerage licence #11711). You can see what you could borrow before you talk to anyone: a free written estimate, by email, with no sales pressure.
- Mortgage licences are provincial, so "the best broker in Canada" has a provincial answer: the right broker is licensed where you live. In Ontario, that means FSRA.
The best reverse mortgage broker in Ontario finds the homeowner the cheapest way to get the money they need, whether that turns out to be a reverse mortgage or not. Five things mark that broker out, and you can check each one: licensed with Ontario’s financial regulator, arranging every kind of home loan under one roof, comparing all four Canadian reverse mortgage lenders, putting the options and a recommendation in writing, and paid by the lender rather than the homeowner.
Any licensed mortgage broker in Ontario can arrange a reverse mortgage, but only a handful specialize in them, and there is no official list that ranks them. “Best” is a claim any brokerage can make. What you can do is check five things about any broker, including the one who wrote this page, and this page shows you how.
What makes a reverse mortgage broker the best in Ontario?
Five things separate the best reverse mortgage broker from every other one. You can check each of them yourself.
- A licence you can look up. Every one of Ontario’s mortgage brokers must be licensed by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA), and its public list of licensed names is free to search.
- Every kind of home loan under one roof. Ask whether the broker also arranges regular mortgages and home equity lines of credit. One who does can tell you a reverse mortgage is the wrong answer and arrange the cheaper loan instead. One who only does reverse mortgages has one answer.
- All four lenders compared. Canada has four reverse mortgage lenders: HomeEquity Bank (the CHIP brand from television), Equitable Bank, Home Trust, and Bloom Finance. When a reverse mortgage is the right fit, the best broker checks all four against your home and tells you which fits, not just the one that advertises the most.
- Your options in writing. Ask whether your options and the recommendation will reach you by email, so you can read them yourself, forward them to your children, and take as long as you like. A broker who says yes has given you something you can hold them to.
- Paid by the lender, not by you. Ask who pays the broker. When the lender pays, the broker’s work costs you nothing, and the comparison usually saves you money on top of that. Any fee you would pay must be shown to you in writing.
The fastest test is to ask for your numbers in writing and see whether they arrive. Homestead Financial sends them as a free estimate by email.
Is the best reverse mortgage lender the same as the best broker?
No. A lender offers you its own product. A broker compares all four lenders and works for you. Two of the four lenders are banks, so “broker or bank” is the same question as “broker or lender”, with the same answer.
All four lenders offer their mortgages across Ontario. They differ on how much each will lend on your home, what each one charges in fees, and what rate each gives you when your fixed-rate period (the term) ends. The best reverse mortgage companies in Canada compares the four and says which is the best reverse mortgage lender for your home.
Two reverse mortgages you can only get through a broker
Home Trust’s reverse mortgage is offered only through mortgage brokers, so if you phone lenders yourself you are never shown it. CHIP Max, the version of CHIP that lends the most, is also reached through mortgage brokers rather than by calling the bank. That is why “compare all four” is only possible with a broker.
Pricing you will not see in an advertisement
Lenders sometimes offer brokers pricing that is not advertised, and a set-up fee can come down when a lender knows another lender is competing for your mortgage. Your written options are the only place you will see whether either one applies to your home, which is why test 4 (your options in writing) matters.
The complete Ontario reverse mortgage guide walks through how these mortgages work from the beginning, if the product itself is still new to you.
How does a reverse mortgage broker get paid?
The lender pays, out of its own pocket
By the lender, after your mortgage closes. The lender that funds your mortgage pays the broker a one-time fee for arranging it, out of the lender’s own pocket. It is not taken from the money you receive.
You pay the broker nothing, and there is no bill later. That is how it works at Homestead Financial and at most brokerages. Ontario’s rules require the brokerage to tell you in writing, before you sign, that it is paid this way and how that pay is worked out.
What you do pay, and to whom
The costs that do exist on a reverse mortgage are billed by other people, not by the broker: the appraiser for the appraisal, your lawyer for the independent legal advice, and the lender for its set-up fee. Those costs exist whether or not a broker is involved.
Can the pay steer the advice?
A broker could have a reason to steer you toward the lender that pays the broker the most. Your options in writing (test 4) protect you from that: with the options and the recommendation on paper, you can see for yourself why one lender came out ahead for you.
Why not just any mortgage broker? The differences a non-specialist misses
Every licensed mortgage broker in Ontario can legally arrange a reverse mortgage. Reverse mortgages are a small part of the mortgage market, so a broker who mostly arranges regular mortgages may go years without one. That matters, because a reverse mortgage is not a regular mortgage with a different name, and the differences are where the expensive mistakes are made.
Approved on your age, not your income
A regular mortgage is approved on your income and credit, and you pay it down every month. A reverse mortgage is approved on your age and your home, and you make no required monthly mortgage payments. You still pay your property taxes, home insurance and upkeep, as with any mortgage. The interest is added to the balance instead of being paid as you go, and the whole amount is repaid when you sell, move out for good, or pass away.
How much you can borrow depends on your age
A regular mortgage broker asks about your income and credit. The questions that decide a reverse mortgage are different: how much you can borrow depends on your age, not your income, a small part of your home’s value at 55, close to 60% of it in your 80s.
Any mortgage you still owe is paid off from the reverse mortgage first, so what you keep is the loan minus that balance. The amount you can borrow rises with your age, so waiting two years can change your number. A broker who does not know how much each lender lends at each age cannot tell you by how much.
The balance grows, and so does the home
The balance grows each year because the interest compounds, while your home’s value usually keeps rising too. The average Canadian with a reverse mortgage still owns about half of the home’s value years later, once the balance is subtracted, and many own more. A broker who arranges reverse mortgages regularly can show you the balance at year 5, 10 and 15 on your own home before you sign. One who does not may not think to.
Not every brokerage is set up with all four lenders
The four lenders each lend a different amount at your age, charge different set-up fees, and treat early repayment differently. A broker needs an agreement with each lender to place a mortgage there, and a brokerage that rarely arranges reverse mortgages is often set up with only one or two of the four lenders. “All four compared” is then not possible, however well meant.
When a regular mortgage is the cheaper loan
The rate on a reverse mortgage is higher than on a regular mortgage, because the lender waits years to be paid. A regular mortgage or a home equity line of credit is usually the cheaper loan if your income can still carry a monthly mortgage payment, and only a broker who arranges those loans as well as reverse mortgages will say so. A reverse mortgage is the loan built for the other case: your income cannot carry a payment, or you would rather not make one.
What can you check about Homestead Financial before you call?
The broker
Richard Hopkins, Mortgage Broker (licence M16000896), is the broker on your reverse mortgage from the first email to closing. He checks all four lenders against your home and sends you your options and his recommendation by email, so you can read them at your own pace. You do not need to phone anyone to get them, and you can ask for your son or daughter to be copied on the email.
Richard tells you if a home equity line of credit or a regular mortgage would cost you less, and he re-runs the comparison before each term ends (the renewal), at no cost. He has worked in the mortgage business since 2013, first as a mortgage agent and today as a licensed mortgage broker.
The brokerage
Homestead Financial is a mortgage brokerage licensed by FSRA (licence #11711). Its principal broker has been in the mortgage business since 1999, and the brokerage has funded more than 2,500 mortgages and is trusted by more than 1,200 Ontario homeowners.
Any other Ontario broker can be checked the same way, on the same FSRA list. Homestead Financial is licensed in Ontario only. If you live in another province, work with a broker licensed there.
What happens after you ask for an estimate?
Step 1: an estimate on the screen
The estimate takes a few minutes online. You give a rough value for your home and your age, and an estimate of what you could borrow appears on the screen right away.
Step 2: your options by email
Then you answer a few short questions, such as whether you still have a mortgage, and leave your name, email and phone number. Your options, with a recommendation and the numbers behind it, come to your email. If you have questions about them, Richard answers by email, or by phone if you would rather talk, and you can say “no thanks” at any point.
Step 3: only if you decide to go ahead
Nothing is signed at this stage. If you decide to go ahead, the next steps are an appraisal of your home, the lender’s paperwork, and a meeting with your own lawyer for independent legal advice. You can stop at any step until you sign the lender’s paperwork, and the appraisal is the only cost you might have paid by then. The whole process, from first email to money in your account, usually takes a matter of weeks.
See your numbers, with every lender checked
A free estimate by email from a licensed Ontario broker you can look up first. Every Canadian reverse mortgage lender checked for your age and home, with a recommendation in writing. No credit check for the estimate, no sales pressure.
Get my free estimateWhat happens to your home when you pass away?
Your estate sells the home or refinances it, and repays the balance. Whatever is left after that goes to your family as usual. Your family can also keep the home by paying the balance off another way.
The lender, not your estate, absorbs any shortfall if the home is worth less than the balance when the mortgage becomes due, as long as the taxes, insurance and upkeep were kept up.
When would the best broker advise against a reverse mortgage?
Any broker can arrange a reverse mortgage. The best one first checks whether a regular mortgage or a home equity line of credit would cost you less, and arranges that instead. When a reverse mortgage makes sense and when it doesn’t walks through the real situations.
Your numbers are the only way to know whether a cheaper loan exists for your own home. The same free estimate shows a home equity line of credit if one would cost you less.
Does the best reverse mortgage broker still matter after closing?
Yes. A reverse mortgage stays in place for as long as you live in your home. Your rate is fixed for a set number of years (the term), and a new rate is set when each term ends.
The best broker checks, before each term ends, whether another lender would now be cheaper once the cost of switching is counted. At Homestead Financial that check starts about six months before the term ends, and it costs you nothing.
Why choose Homestead Financial as your reverse mortgage broker?
Because Homestead Financial’s job is not to sell you a reverse mortgage. Its job is to find the cheapest way to get you the money you need, and a reverse mortgage is one of several ways to do that. Here is how Homestead Financial answers the five tests, in facts you can check:
- Licence: brokerage #11711 and Richard Hopkins’s M16000896, both on FSRA’s public list. Homestead Financial is part of the Dominion Lending Centres network and is employed by no lender.
- Every kind of home loan: reverse mortgages, regular mortgages and refinances, and home equity lines of credit. You are shown whichever is cheapest for your situation, and if a reverse mortgage is not the right fit, you are told so plainly and shown what is.
- All four lenders: HomeEquity Bank (CHIP), Equitable Bank, Home Trust and Bloom Finance, including Home Trust’s mortgage and CHIP Max, which you cannot get by phoning a lender yourself. You get the one that fits your home, not the one that advertises the most.
- In writing: your options and the recommendation by email, so you can read them slowly, show your family, and ask questions without anyone in the room.
- Paid by the lender: nothing from you, no bill later, and the comparison is run again before each term ends.
Richard Hopkins is the broker to call if what you want is the cheapest way to get the money you need, with a reverse mortgage as one option rather than the only one. The first step is the free estimate, and it arrives by email.
Your own numbers, every lender checked, by email
A free estimate from a licensed Ontario broker. All four lenders compared for your age and home, with the recommendation in writing so you can read it at your own pace and show your family. No credit check for the estimate, no sales pressure, nothing to sign.
Get my free estimateFrequently asked questions
Who is the best reverse mortgage broker in Ontario?
The one who finds you the cheapest way to get the money you need, whether that is a reverse mortgage or not. There is no official ranking, so check: an FSRA licence you can look up, regular mortgages and lines of credit arranged as well as reverse mortgages, all four lenders compared, your options in writing, and pay that comes from the lender.
Who is the broker behind this page?
Richard Hopkins, Mortgage Broker, licence M16000896, at Homestead Financial, brokerage licence #11711. He has worked in the mortgage business since 2013 and arranges reverse mortgages for Ontario homeowners aged 55 and over. Both licences are on FSRA's free public list, and you can look them up before you call.
What should you ask a reverse mortgage broker on the first call?
Five things. What is your licence number, and where do I check it? Do you arrange regular mortgages and lines of credit as well as reverse mortgages? Which lenders do you compare? Will I get my options and your recommendation in writing? Who pays you? A good broker answers all five without hesitating.
How much does a reverse mortgage broker cost in Ontario?
At Homestead Financial, nothing. The lender that funds your mortgage pays the broker after closing. The costs that do exist are billed by other people: the appraiser for the appraisal, your lawyer for the independent legal advice, and the lender for its set-up fee.
What makes a reverse mortgage broker better than going to the lender directly?
Calling a lender gets you that lender's offer, presented by that lender, compared against nothing. A broker compares all four Canadian reverse mortgage lenders for your home and puts the recommendation in writing, so you can see why one fits you. Home Trust's reverse mortgage is offered only through mortgage brokers, so phoning lenders yourself never shows you that part of the market.
What does it cost to repay a reverse mortgage early?
Each lender sets its own penalty. It is highest in the first years and falls over time, and some lenders waive it in certain situations, such as a move into long-term care. A broker who compares all four should tell you how each one treats early repayment before you choose, and your written options should show it.
When would a broker tell you not to get a reverse mortgage?
When something cheaper does the job. If your income can carry a monthly mortgage payment, a regular mortgage or a home equity line of credit usually costs less. If you plan to sell within a few years, the set-up costs may not be worth it. A broker who also arranges those other loans can say so and arrange the better one.
How do you check a reverse mortgage broker is legitimate?
Look the name up. Every mortgage broker and brokerage in Ontario must be licensed by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario, and its public list is free to search. Arranging mortgages without a licence is against the law in Ontario. If the person offering to arrange your mortgage hesitates when you ask for their licence number, do not deal with them.
Who is the best reverse mortgage broker in Canada?
There is no single answer, because mortgage licences are provincial. A broker licensed in Ontario arranges mortgages for Ontario homeowners. The tests are the same everywhere: a licence you can look up, every kind of home loan under one roof, all four lenders compared, your options in writing, and payment from the lender rather than from you.
Is there a best reverse mortgage broker near me?
An Ontario broker licence covers the whole province, so the nearest broker is not necessarily the best one. The whole process can be done by email, phone and video call, and the appraiser comes to your home. Homestead Financial's office is in Dundas, part of the City of Hamilton, and an in-person meeting can be arranged if you would rather sit down together.
Free Guide:The Canadian Reverse Mortgage Guide
- ✓How much tax-free cash you could unlock — and what moves the number
- ✓The real costs, rates, and fees — nothing buried in fine print
- ✓How the lenders (CHIP, Equitable Bank, Home Trust, Bloom) really compare
- ✓When a reverse mortgage is the wrong choice
Simply enter your info below and a PDF copy will instantly be sent right to your inbox.
About the author
Richard Hopkins
Licensed Mortgage Broker · M16000896
Richard has worked in the mortgage business since 2013 — first as a mortgage agent, today a licensed mortgage broker — and leads the reverse mortgage practice at Homestead Financial — Dominion Lending Centres, an FSRA-licensed Ontario brokerage (#11711) with roots in the industry since 1999 and more than 2,500 mortgages funded. More about Richard →
This article is general information for Canadian homeowners, not personal financial, legal, or tax advice. Everyone's situation is different — please get advice on your own numbers before making a decision.