Indi Mortgage · Calgary, AB
Calgary Mortgage Broker
Calgary is where I grew up. I have been arranging mortgages here since 2006 — and after twenty years you stop guessing about this city and start knowing it.
Josh Tagg
Mortgage Broker · Calgary & area
- ✓ Dozens of lenders, one application
- ✓ Rates banks can't match
- ✓ Fast pre-approvals
How I can help
Whatever stage you're at, you get one application, dozens of lenders, and honest advice.
Buying a Home
Get pre-approved properly before you shop, so a tight financing condition is a decision rather than a gamble.
Learn more →Refinance
Access equity, consolidate debt or fund a renovation — with the penalty maths done before you commit.
Learn more →Renewal & Switch
Don't sign the letter your bank sent. Renewal is the cheapest moment to fix a mortgage that no longer fits.
Learn more →First-Time Buyers
What you can actually afford in Calgary, what the government programs are worth, and how not to get squeezed on conditions.
Learn more →Stop a Foreclosure
Behind on your mortgage in Calgary? If there's equity in the home, there is usually a way to stop it — but every week of waiting costs you options.
Learn more →Private & Alternative Lending
When a bank says no but the property says yes — private and B-lender financing used properly: as a bridge with a defined exit, not a destination.
Learn more →Why local matters here
Calgary is a dozen markets inside one city
A Beltline condo, a Marda Loop infill with a legal suite, a new build in Seton and a 1980s bungalow in Huntington Hills with poly-B plumbing are four completely different financing problems. Same city, same lender list, four different right answers — and the wrong one costs you the house or the rate.
I grew up here. Knowing which question to ask before you write the offer is most of the job, and it is the part you cannot get from a rate comparison site.
What makes a Calgary mortgage differentSecondary suites: legal versus not is worth real money
Calgary has a large and growing legal secondary-suite stock, and suite income is often what makes an inner-city or established-suburb purchase work…
Read more →Condo buildings get underwritten, not just buyers
For anything in the Beltline, downtown or an older condo building, the corporation matters as much as you do. Lenders review the reserve fund study…
Read more →Price thresholds change the rules — and the first one moved in 2024
This is the rule people most often have out of date. Since 15 December 2024 default insurance is available on purchases up to just under $1.5 million…
Read more →New builds are a timeline problem, not a qualification problem
A large share of purchases in the deep south, southeast and far north are directly from a builder, with possession nine to eighteen months out…
Read more →
Meet your broker
Josh Tagg — Mortgage Broker · Calgary & area
Josh Tagg grew up in Calgary and has been arranging mortgages here since 2006 — through the 2008 crash, the 2014–16 oil downturn, the 2013 flood and the growth years since. He is independent, which means he works for you, not a lender.
“I grew up in Calgary and lived here most of my life. I know this city and I know how business gets done here.”
- In the business
- 20+ yrs
- Lenders
- Dozens
- Applications
- Just one
- One application, dozens of lenders. You apply once. I take your file to the lenders that actually suit your income and the property you are buying, and bring you the best of what comes back — not the one product an employer told me to sell.
- I read the fine print out loud. Penalty calculation, portability, prepayment privileges, collateral versus standard charge. You will know what breaking or moving this mortgage costs before you sign it, not three years later when you need to move.
- Answers fast enough for a Calgary offer. Competitive offers here live or die on the financing condition. You get straight answers on what is genuinely achievable in the days you actually have — not optimism that leaves you exposed.
- A straight answer, including "not yet". If waiting, paying down one card, or buying less house is the better decision, I will say so. I would rather lose the deal than put you in the wrong one.
My team is in Calgary. We do not take in-person meetings — everything runs by phone, video and secure document upload, which is faster for you and means nothing waits on someone being in an office.
A broker who knows Calgary
Buying, refinancing or renewing in Calgary? I grew up in this city and have arranged mortgage financing here since 2006, through the 2008 crash, the 2014–16 oil downturn, the 2013 flood and the growth years since. That matters because Calgary is not one market — a Beltline condo, a Marda Loop infill with a legal suite, a new build in Seton and a 1980s bungalow in Huntington Hills with poly-B plumbing are four completely different financing problems. As an independent broker I shop dozens of lenders rather than selling one bank's shelf, and my team is here in Calgary. Everything runs by phone, video and secure upload, so you never have to take time off to get a mortgage.
Serving Calgary, Beltline, Kensington, Altadore, Aspen Woods, Tuscany, Saddle Ridge, Mahogany, Legacy, Airdrie, Chestermere, Cochrane and Okotoks.
Buying in Calgary
A genuine local guide — the employers, the amenities, every neighbourhood, and the honest trade-offs of living this far north.
Living in Calgary
Why people stay, what it actually costs, and the trade-offs nobody puts in the brochure.
Major employers
Who employs this city — and how lenders read each kind of pay.
Communities guide
12 communities, the housing in each, and the financing quirks that come with them.
Real files, real numbers
Anyone can claim they get deals done. Here are actual Calgary files with the arithmetic left in — names changed, numbers real.
When the Mortgage Is the One Thing That Went Right
Collectors calling, CRA arrears and property taxes owing, credit scores hammered by maxed-out balances — but a mortgage that had never once been late.
- ~1 week
- From first call to funded
- $74,000
- Debts, CRA arrears and taxes cleared
- $0
- Penalty to pay it out early
Stopping a Calgary Foreclosure With a Private Second Mortgage
Mortgage in arrears, the bank's foreclosure lawyers engaged, and three court judgments registered against the title.
- ~2 weeks
- From first call to foreclosure stopped
- $0
- Payments due on the rescue loan for six months
- 43% → 20%
- Monthly debt load (TDS) cut
What Calgary clients say
Real reviews from people who financed homes here. A lot of them have now renewed with me two and three times.
As I had previously only gone through my bank for my mortgage, I was hesitant at first to go through a mortgage broker. However, after contacting Josh, who explained all of my options in detail, I felt very comfortable with my choice. He was able to answer all of my questions and was very quick to respond to any of my inquiries. We received a great rate and were extremely happy with Josh's services.
I have worked with Josh for 10 years now and he has made our mortgage process very comfortable, which can sometimes be overwhelming. His professionalism, promptness in getting back to us whether by phone or e-mail, and overall industry knowledge provides comfort that we are in good hands. He is very open and honest, is not pushy, and offers the best solution that fits our needs. People say you need a good lawyer — I say you need a good mortgage broker, and Josh is your guy.
I went looking for a mortgage broker in Crowfoot and contacted Josh. My situation was complicated by the oil crisis: I had a second mortgage based on an assessment from the previous year that valued my home higher than the current assessment, so I no longer had 20% equity. Josh got both mortgages rolled into one with 0.2% less interest than CIBC's four-year offer — and I got that for five years. Really pleased with the result.
I've had the pleasure of working with Josh on three occasions: my first mortgage four years ago, then about a year later to switch from variable to fixed, and again this fall on my renewal. My experiences have been as good as it gets. Not only did I get the best rates out there, Josh is very knowledgeable and a really nice guy. He even called me back while he was at a lake on vacation — for something that easily could have waited. To me that said a lot.
I am a middle-aged father of two and I work for the government. Before now, my wife and I had bought two houses through one of the big banks, so I have grounds for comparison. My experience with the banks was nothing to write home about — they always acted like they were doing me a favour. Not only did you completely exceed my expectations each time, you used a combination of experience and knowledge to find solutions to my unique circumstances.
I was a first-time home buyer and was a little overwhelmed by all that needed to be done. Josh was very patient, efficient and reassuring along with highly professional. I always felt informed on each step, comfortable asking the many questions I had, and it made the entire process of purchasing my condo an effortless and rewarding experience.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the best mortgage broker in Calgary?+
Josh Tagg grew up in Calgary and has arranged mortgage financing here since 2006 — through the 2008 crash, the 2014–16 oil downturn, the 2013 flood and the growth years since. As an independent broker he is not tied to one lender’s product shelf, which matters in a city where a downtown condo, a suited infill and a new build in the deep south each need a different lender. His team is in Calgary, and the whole process runs remotely by phone, video and secure upload.
Does it cost anything to use a Calgary mortgage broker?+
On standard residential mortgages with mainstream lenders, no — the lender pays the broker when the mortgage funds, and the rate is the same or better than approaching that lender yourself. If a file ever needs an arrangement where a fee applies, which is uncommon, you would be told the amount in writing before any work is done.
Can I use rental income from a basement suite to qualify in Calgary?+
Often yes, and it can transform what you qualify for — but it depends on the suite and the lender. Most lenders draw a hard line between a legal, permitted, registered secondary suite and an unpermitted one, and they differ enormously in how much of the rental income they will use, from none to all of it. If the suite is part of how you afford the house, the lender has to be chosen around it before you write the offer. Ask for the development permit, not the seller’s assurance.
How fast can I get pre-approved in Calgary?+
Usually within a business day once your documents are in, with a rate typically held up to 120 days. That speed matters more here than it used to: in a competitive market you need a real pre-approval before you start looking, so a short financing condition is a considered decision rather than a gamble.
Will getting a quote hurt my credit score?+
No. We can talk through your situation and get you a realistic number without pulling anything. Credit is only checked once you have decided to move forward and have given permission.
Ready to talk about a Calgary mortgage?
Two ways to start: book a call and we'll talk it through, or start the application online and I'll come back to you with what you qualify for. Neither pulls your credit until you say so.