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How much will CMHC lend on this building?

MLI Select is a CMHC mortgage loan insurance program for multi-unit rental buildings: in exchange for commitments on affordability, energy efficiency or accessibility, it opens a loan-to-value and an amortization that conventional financing does not reach. Eligibility and terms are confirmed with your lender. A lender does not lend what you ask for: it lends the lower of two ceilings. Loan-to-value caps the loan against the price; debt coverage caps it against what the building earns. It is almost always the second that decides, and it is the one nobody works out in their head.

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The building

Taxes, insurance, maintenance, management, energy. Excluding the mortgage.
An insured loan costs about three quarters of a point less: that spread is applied to the CMHC structures.
The program is earned in points: affordability, energy efficiency, accessibility. Loan-to-value and amortization open up as they add up.
Net operating income$96,320Rents, less vacancy, less expenses. This is the figure that carries the debt.

The three structures

Conventional75% · 25 years · 5.75%

Capped by income

Loan
$1,027,376
Down payment
$922,624
Monthly payment
$6,421
Debt coverage ratio
1.25
Annual cash flow
$19,264
Cash-on-cash return
2.09%
CMHC insured85% · 40 years · 5%

Capped by income

Loan
$1,524,000
Financed CMHC premium
$45,720
Principal carried
$1,569,720
Down payment
$426,000
Monthly payment
$7,516
Debt coverage ratio
1.07
Annual cash flow
$6,129
Cash-on-cash return
1.44%
CMHC MLI Select90% · 45 years · 5%

Capped by income

Loan
$1,577,700
Financed CMHC premium
$70,997
Principal carried
$1,648,696
Down payment
$372,300
Monthly payment
$7,625
Debt coverage ratio
1.05
Annual cash flow
$4,816
Cash-on-cash return
1.29%

What this calculation does not say

  • Acquisition costs — transfer duties, notary, inspection, appraisal — and the work needed on day one. They leave your pocket the same day as the down payment.
  • The expenses the listing does not declare. A sales sheet almost always omits management, caretaking and the structural reserve: real net income is lower, and the loan with it.
  • Rents below market, and what it takes to close the gap — which depends on the province.
  • The program's own thresholds, which change. These parameters are market orders of magnitude, not rules: confirm them with your lender.

How to read this MLI Select estimate

The calculator compares three financing scenarios using the same income, expenses and price. The loan is constrained by property value or by the income available to cover payments. The lower limit determines the estimated loan; a financed insurance premium then increases the debt to repay.

The starting figures are an example, not a rate offer or confirmation of current program terms. MLI Select connects financing incentives with affordability, energy efficiency or accessibility commitments. An approved lender must confirm a project’s eligibility and terms under the rules currently in force.

Read CMHC’s published MLI Select criteria

Prepare your property’s inputs

Use rents supported by leases, a justified vacancy allowance and a complete operating budget. Taxes, insurance, management and maintenance do not disappear when a listing leaves them out. Closing costs and repairs require additional cash: they are not included in the down payment shown here.

How to calculate rental property cash flowHow to analyze a rental property before buyingRental property analysis software

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