Mortgage Investment Corporations

A Mortgage Investment Corporation or MIC is an investment and lending company designed specifically for mortgage lending.  Owning shares in a Mortgage Investment Corporation (MIC) enables you to invest in a diversified and secured pool of mortgages. Shares of a MIC are qualified investments under the Income Tax Act of Canada for TFSAs, RRSPs, RRIFs, DPSPs, or RESPs.

A MIC mortgage portfolio can include everything from small second mortgages on residential property to commercial and development mortgages on new projects. Every investment is typically based on a thorough investigation of the property. A typical MIC loan should ideally not exceed 75% of the current value of the property. Compare this to a conventional bank's willingness to routinely loan 95% of the value of the property and sometimes even 100%.

MIC's are organized for investing in pools of mortgages. Profits generated by MICs are distributed to its shareholders according to their proportional interest. The mortgages are secured on real property, often in conjunction with other forms of security, such as personal and corporate guarantees, general security agreements and assignments of material contracts, such as insurance policies, prepared by lawyers for the MIC.