In The Media

Ep.127 | How SEO Is Replacing Brokers in Private Mortgages with Jonathan Alphonso

April 01, 2026 – In this episode of the Canadian Private Lenders Podcast, Ryan and Neal sit down with Jonathan Alphonso of Mortgage Broker Store Inc. to break down a completely different approach to private lending.

Ronald Alphonso Award champions MBA students who reinvent their careers

York Region – Jan 13, 2026 – In memory of Ronald, who died in 2025, the family honoured the beloved husband and father by establishing the Ronald Alphonso Award. Because reinvention was such a defining part of Ronald’s career, this annual award will support a full-time MBA student in financial need who is reinventing themselves as part of a career transition with $3,000 toward their education.

She Fell Behind On Her Mortgage, Now She's Losing Her Home. Inside The Heartbreaking Surge Of Forced Sales In The Toronto Area.

York Region – Nov 3, 2025 – Lenders are seizing more homes, especially in the suburbs, where up to 1 in 10 are now listed in power of sale. 

Buying time: York Region residents live with Greater Toronto’s highest debt loads as they pay off ‘unattainable’ homes

York Region – Apr 4, 2025 – York Region residents are grappling with soaring debt levels as housing becomes increasingly unaffordable, even in traditionally more affordable areas like Newmarket and Georgina. Many homeowners are relying on credit cards, private loans, and lines of credit to make ends meet, often pushing themselves deeper into debt. The emotional attachment to homeownership keeps people from selling, even when they can no longer keep up with payments. Jonathan Alphonso, a realtor and private lender, sees firsthand how deep people are getting into debt just to hold onto their homes.

Condo Market Sees Unprecedented Sales But Declining Prices Amid Rising Interest Rates

Toronto Star – Sep 9, 2023 – The Toronto condo market is experiencing a paradox of increased sales but declining average prices. Mortgage Broker Store’s Ron Alphonso warns that the surge in listings is primarily from investors forced to liquidate due to untenable mortgage costs. “The condo market is hurting right now and as long as interest rates remain high even more condos will come to the market soon.” says Alphonso.

Rising Mortgage Rates Lead to ‘Infinity Mortgages’ in Canada

Toronto Star – Aug 12, 2023 – A startling rise in interest rates has led to the emergence of “infinite mortgages” in Canada. Mortgage Broker Store’s Ron Alphonso highlights the risk of increased defaults, as homeowners face the challenge of extended amortization periods due to the aggressive rate hikes.

Financial watchdog proposes ‘mortgage relief measures’ to help struggling homeowners

Toronto Star – Mar 31, 2023 – Mortgage Broker Store’s president, Ron Alphonso, emphasizes the importance of implementing mandatory regulations to assist clients with variable rate mortgages, as relying on the voluntary efforts of lenders might not adequately address the needs of all customers.

Is Canada at risk of wave of mortgage defaults?

CTV News – Mar 8, 2023 – With the increased use of private lender financing some Canadian homeowners are having difficulty making all their mortgage payments. Ron Alphonso discusses general mortgage trends and the situation of one of Ron’s private mortgage clients.

Riskier private mortgages have soared by 72% in Ontario

Toronto Star – Mar 7, 2023 – The percentage of Ontario borrowers with private mortgages has hit roughly 20%, says Ronald Alphonso of Mortgage Broker Store. He predicts 5% to 10% of those mortgage holders will default due to rising rates.

Fraudsters tried to sell people’s homes without them knowing. How you can protect yourself

National Post – Jan 12, 2023 – The Greater Toronto Area has recently seen a string of fraudulent house transactions. The cases involve sohphisticated criminals with fake identities. Ron speaks on the nature of real estate fraud in Toronto and what homeowners can do to protect themseleves.

Toronto homeowners face higher interest rates, property tax increase

Global News – Jan 10, 2023 – With high house prices and increasing interest rates and inflation, many Toronto homeowners are struggling to keep their homes. Ron Alphonso explains the factors involved and what to expect in the near future.

How your home could be fraudulently sold without you knowing

Global News – Jan 6, 2023 – In January 2022, a Toronto couple returned from vacation to find that their home had been sold without their knowledge or consent. Ronald Alphonso discusses the system involved in land registry and how something like this could happen.

Toronto area home sales plummet

Global News – Oct 5, 2022 – Home sales in the Greater Toronto Area fell by 44 per cent in September compared to the same time last year. Mortgage broker, Ron Alphonso, warns that people will have more difficulty keeping their homes in the next few months because of rising interest rates.

Mortgage advice following Bank of Canada’s 1% interest rate increase

Global News – Jul 14, 2022 – Wednesday’s interest rate hike by the Bank of Canada is going to create some challenges for many Canadians. So, who will get hit the hardest? Ron Alphonso speaks with Global News and breaks it all down with some timely advice.

Ron Alphonso on How to Master B and Private Lending

ILMB Podcast – Aug 2, 2020 – Principal Broker Ronald Alphonso discusses alternate lending with SK based broker Chris Kolinski. I Love Mortgage Brokering is the most popular mortgage brokering podcast in Canada, and covers a wide range of topics.

Canadians Underwater

Global News – Apr 18, 2018 – Global News journalist, Patrick Cain, details the high mortgage debt levels of Canadians and the potential dangers of the high interest rates associated with them. The story talks about what parts of Canada are at the highest risk and what the impacts of rising interest rates in the future could be.

What to know if you’re considering a mortgage from an alternative lender

The Globe and Mail – Mar 22, 2018 – Since the Office of Financial Institutions has introduced new mortgage stress tests, fewer Canadians qualify for a bank mortgage. Many people who are turned away by banks turn to private lenders and some of these lenders do not have their client’s best interests in mind. Ron Alphonso describes a bad experience a client had with a private lender and how to make sure your lender is reputable.

Richmond Hill woman caught in house squeeze

Global News – Nov 1, 2017 – A woman living in Richmond Hill shares her story about getting caught in the real estate market downturn. She purchased two houses, one and Richmond Hill and one in Innisfil with plans on selling one. When real estate prices started to drop, she lost $100,000 in equity on each property for a total of $200,000 in lost home equity.

Has ‘fixing’ Canada’s mortgage market made it riskier?

Maclean’s – Nov 27, 2017 – The Canadian government has been introducing new mortgage regulations that are causing more people to get turned down by traditional lenders. As a result many people are using the services of alternative lenders. Ron Alphonso is amongst the group of mortgage and real estate professions who share their thoughts on the situation.

Global News at 5:30 Sept 6 – GTA Housing Market Continues to Cool

Global News – Sep 6, 2017 – The Bank of Canada had announced their second interest rake hike of 2017, bringing the rate up to 1%. Tom Hayes from Global talks about the impact on homeowners and discusses with Ron the affect this is having on mortgage defaults.

Greater Toronto Area home foreclosures on the rise

Global News – Jul 5, 2017 – After years of increasing home prices in the GTA, home prices are finally falling. Ron Alphonso has seen a dramatic increase in the number of power of sale and foreclosures in the GTA, and warns that this number is continuing to increase.

Toronto-area home sales drop in May after province introduces foreign buyers’ tax

Global News – Jun 6, 2017 – In Toronto, people are now feeling the impact of the Ontario Liberal government’s efforts to cool the Ontario real estate market. Ron Alphonso gives his views on the market and warns that Ontario will soon be a buyers’ market for real estate.

Average GTA home price nears $1 million

Global News – Apr 5, 2017 – Houses in the Greater Toronto Area have been reaching record prices and many Canadians cannot afford to buy a home. Many current homeowners with low-interest mortgages, but Ron explains that he is beginning to see people struggle with the costs of owning a home.

How the US Federal Reserve rate hike might affect Canadians

Global News – Mar 16, 2017 – The US Federal reserve has raised their interest rate and have two additional increases planned for 2017. Canada’s interest rates are impacted by those in the US and Ron explains what he believes will change in Canada.

Canada’s mortgage brokers find ways around new lending rules

Reuters – Oct 20, 2016 – The federal government’s new mortgage rules are leaving many people looking for ways around the new restrictions. A number of alternative lenders specialize in working with those turned down by banks. Ron Alphonso is one of these lenders, and explains what options consumers have.

Failed the mortgage stress test? Alternative lenders await — at a price

Global News – Oct 18, 2016 – Canada’s federal government implemented new rules that aims to limit the number of mortgage applications that qualify for mortgage insurance. These new rules are designed to cool Canada’s red hot real estate market, and prevent a potential market correction’s ability to hurt Canadian banks. Ron Alphonso explains the potential impact these rules will have on the less regulated private lending market.

This man can’t afford his own attorney

Toronto Star – Aug 1, 2016 – We helped Toronto Star journalist Sunny Freeman explain the consequences of court battles with mortgage lenders.

Navigating a hot real estate market

Global News – Apr 8, 2016 – We gave our opinion on the current state of the real estate market in a story about inflated Toronto housing prices.

Predatory lender could take your house in a power of sale

Global News – Feb 17, 2016 – This is a story about one of our clients who was facing a power of sale from an abusive lender. We were able to stop the power of sale and allow the family to keep their home.

Can you handle a Mortgage rate hike in 2016?

Global News – Jan 8, 2016 – Canadians have been enjoying relatively low mortgage rates for the past few years. Ron warns that rates may increase in the near future.

The Pay Chen Show on Newstalk 1010 Radio – Episode 122

Newstalk 1010 – Nov 28, 2015 – Ron shares his opinion on the current state of Toronto’s real estate market, as well as where he would recommend purchasing a new home.

How Private Lenders and Debt Crazed Homebuyers are Pushing Toronto’s Real Estate Market to the Brink

Toronto Life – Nov 4, 2015 – The cover story in the November issue of Toronto Life focused on some of our past clients and the private lending industry. The story goes into detail about how Ron saved his clients from power of sale proceedings and gives a warning about taking on too much debt.