Loanova is in the final stages of launching Canada’s first fractional mortgage product.
The Toronto-based startup was founded in June to serve borrowers who don’t qualify for traditional bank mortgages while giving retail investors a new option that promises higher returns than GICs with less risk than the stock market.
“We’re trying to democratize mortgage lending by making partial interest on qualified syndicated mortgages available to ordinary people,” said Loanova co-founder and CEO Nathan Saliagas. “On the borrower side, we want to unlock homeownership for more people, whether it’s new immigrants, people with non-wage income or people who haven’t established credit yet.”
Use new technology to solve old problems
Loanova was originally created as a business school program while Saliagas was studying business at TMU and George Brown University to solve real-world challenges he faced after moving from the United States.
“When I apply for a mortgage in 2023, they have to look at my U.S. credit history because even though I’ve been in the U.S. since 2017 and have a good salary income, I don’t have enough history here,” he said. “It wasn’t the best process, but it sparked my interest.”
The solution looks a lot like traditional private lending, but with a technology-first approach and without the typical restrictions on investors such as high net worth, retail certifications or six-figure commitments.
“Essentially, this is a modernized version of the traditional syndicated loan option,” explains Josh Gruneir, co-founder and chief compliance officer. “Multiple investors pool their money to fund a mortgage, and they receive interest in proportion to their investment, which is a business model that has been around in the private mortgage world for a long time.”
On the technology front, Loanova intends to use new tools to keep overhead costs low and generate higher returns for investors, while leveraging artificial intelligence to automate some underwriting and verifying claims, and leveraging partnerships with Plaid, Accept Pay Global and Equifax.
“We can use different providers to look at financial data, look at their spending habits, look at credit scores and more,” explains co-founder and CTO Gerrit Steinbach. “Then through artificial intelligence we can also assess non-traditional sources, such as their educational attainment.”
Pricing and investor appeal
Loanova uses this data to grade potential borrowers from A to D. Interest rates for A borrowers who provide at least 20% down payment start at 5.95% and can go up to 9% for D borrowers, which is comparable to traditional MIC rates. Borrowers need at least 10% down to qualify, but 20% down is typically required to get the best loan rate and meet loan-to-value thresholds.
“On the investor side, our management fees are significantly lower than what others in our space typically see,” Saliagas said. “Class A starts at 0.7 per cent and Class D is capped at 1 per cent. If you compare that to mortgage investment companies, they typically charge investors closer to 4 per cent, so we’re much cheaper.”
Investors simply need to pass a Know Your Customer suitability assessment and demonstrate that they are willing to assume a level of investor risk.
Returns are expected to be more attractive than GIC rates on similar products, and while some mortgage investments may be riskier, they are still considered safer than the stock market.
“If you look at Bank of Montreal’s non-redeemable GICs now, their three-year maturities are less than two-and-a-half percent — investors would make more than double that amount from us over a similar three-year term,” Sariagas said.
“It creates a new middle ground for a general investment vehicle, with moderate risk but much higher returns than GICs,” Gruneir added. “It really puts it in a new position that doesn’t currently exist in the Canadian investment market.”
Attract young borrowers and investors
Saliagas added that Loanova will work with borrowers and investors of all ages but is designed with young people in mind.
“We do anticipate that our average investors and borrowers will generally be younger people,” he said. “According to Statistics Canada, if you’re older, you’re more likely to have stable credit, more stable employment, and younger people are more entrepreneurial, so our population is going to be younger compared to the banks.”
Saliagas said some of the mortgage products are also aimed at attracting a generation of younger investors who are accustomed to participating in the market through smartphones and non-traditional investment products such as cryptocurrencies.
Loanova is currently accepting applications from borrowers and investors on its website, pending FSRA approval before officially launching in the first quarter of 2026.
Saliagas said that while no investment has been made in marketing so far, Loanova investors and borrowers have signed up on average one to two times a day and expects to have 100 people each sign up when it launches in the new year.
Loanova is currently only available in Ontario, but the company plans to expand nationally and further across borders in the coming years.
“We’re looking for people who want the opportunity to invest a fairly small amount of money in a mortgage and earn a fair return,” Grunier said.
“It creates a new investment vehicle, a new investment category,” Saliagas added. “It allows for more diversification and generates passive income that historically has not been available to the average person.”
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Fractional OwnershipGerrit Steinbach Investment PropertiesJosh Gruneir LoanovaMortgage Industry NewsMortgage TechnologyNathan Saliagas
Last modified: November 27, 2025
