Commercial purchase checklist
Commercial mortgage document checklist
An owner buying the building their business runs from is underwritten on the business. Two years of T1 Generals and Notices of Assessment, the company’s financial statements and bank statements, the purchase agreement and a net worth statement. This is the list Startly sends your client to complete on their phone.
- Documents
- 14, 11 required
- Applies to
- Commercial purchase, self-employed, main applicant
- Version
- Startly’s checklist of Nov 1, 2026
The checklist
14 documents in three groups
The purchase agreement, the down payment and a net worth statement, with two years of personal and business income history.
Every document is required unless it says optional. Each upload is checked to be readable and the right document, plus the checks listed under it. Descriptions are shown to your client as written.
Startly’s built-in checklist. Your brokerage can tailor it; your version stays private.
Identity and banking
3 documents, all required
- 1
Government-issued photo ID
Driver's licence or passport, front and back.
Checked for name, front and back, not expired.
- 2
Credit check consent
Signed consent form from your broker. Do not upload your SIN card.
Checked for name, signature and date.
- 3
90 days of bank statements
All pages, for every account you use.
Checked for name, every page, 90 days covered. Figures read and cited to the page.
Commercial property
5 documents, 3 required
- 4
Purchase agreement and MLS listing
Fully signed, with all schedules.
Checked for every page, signature and date.
- 5
Proof of down payment
Statements showing the funds, personal or the business's.
Checked for name, every page.
- 6
Personal net worth statement
Your assets and debts on your broker's form, with statements for the investments it lists.
Checked for name, signature and date.
- 7
Property tax bill or assessment for the property,Optional
From the listing or the seller.
- 8
Rent roll and tenant leases,Optional
If part of the building is rented out, or your business will rent from your holding company.
Checked for every page.
Self-employed income
6 documents, 5 required
- 9
T1 Generals, last 2 years
Full return including all schedules and the Statement of Business or Professional Activities (T2125).
Checked for name, every page, both years. Figures read and cited to the page.
- 10
Notices of Assessment, last 2 years
From CRA My Account. Confirms no taxes owing.
Checked for name, both years. Figures read and cited to the page.
- 11
Business licence or Articles of Incorporation
- 12
Business financial statements, last 2 years
Accountant-prepared where available.
Checked for every page, both years.
- 13
6 months of business bank statements
Checked for every page. Figures read and cited to the page.
- 14
HST/GST filings, last 2 years,Optional
Checked for both years.
Why these documents
What the lender is looking for
A commercial lender asks whether the business can carry the mortgage, and whether the owner stands behind it. The appraisal and any environmental assessment are the lender’s to order.
- Purchase agreement and MLS listing
- Price, closing date and conditions: what is being financed. The listing tells the lender what the building is, unit by unit.
- Business financial statements, last 2 years
- An owner-occupied commercial mortgage is paid from the business’s cash flow. Lenders ask for two years of statements, some for three.
- T1 Generals, last 2 years
- The owner, and anyone guaranteeing the loan, is underwritten personally too: line 15000 and the business statement, both years.
- Personal net worth statement
- The personal guarantee is only as strong as the assets behind it. The statements for each investment it lists back the figures up.
- Proof of down payment
- Where the equity sits today, personal or the company’s. Lenders trace it for anti-money-laundering rules as on any purchase.
- Rent roll and tenant leases
- Optional. Only when part of the building is rented out, or a holding company buys it and rents to the operating company.
How Startly reads them
Send one link. Startly checks every page.
Step 1
Send one link
Open an Application for a commercial purchase. Startly picks this checklist; tailor it, then send your client their link by email or text.
Step 2
Your client sends them
They enter a code we email them, with no account to create, and photograph or upload each item. Reminders follow, by default on days 2, 5 and 9, until everything is in.
Step 3
Startly checks each upload
Readable, the right document, every page, both years, a signed agreement. When something is missing, your client is asked for it, not told what we found.
Step 4
You review and decide
Startly reads the personal and business income figures and cites each to its page. Findings show what doesn’t add up; you dismiss each with a reason, accept each document, then download the package.
Questions
Common questions
What documents do I need for a commercial mortgage in Canada?
The Agreement of Purchase and Sale and the listing, two years of business financial statements, two years of T1 Generals and Notices of Assessment for each owner, the Articles of Incorporation or business registration, six months of business bank statements, a personal net worth statement with investment statements, proof of the down payment, and government ID with a credit check consent. The lender orders the appraisal and, where the use calls for it, a Phase I environmental assessment.
Can a self-employed owner get a commercial mortgage?
Yes. Most owner-occupied commercial mortgages go to self-employed owners. The lender reads the business’s own statements and the owner’s tax returns rather than a T4, which is why this checklist asks for both.
Does Startly arrange commercial mortgages?
No. Startly collects and checks the documents your client sends and reads the figures in them. You choose the lender and submit through the tools you already use. Startly is not a lender and makes no decision about an applicant.
What if the property is bought through a holding company?
The same list, plus the lease between the holding company and the operating business, which the optional rent roll item collects. Your brokerage can rename or add items for the corporate documents a particular lender wants.
Can I change this checklist?
Yes. Your brokerage tailors it for each deal type: add your own items, such as a business plan for a company under two years old, or stop asking for ones you don’t need. Your version is private to your brokerage.
Early access
Collect a commercial purchase file without the chase.
Sign in with your work email to join the waitlist. We let brokerages in a few at a time and email you when your account is ready. Early-access brokerages get their first 3 months free.