A large part of most brokerages income theses days is from these "transaction fees", as opposed to the traditional commission split percentages.

My mortgage broker provided 3 options: traditional monthly mortgage insurance until my LTV was <80%, upfront mortgage insurance (cash due at closing), or the LPMI mentioned above, in exchange for a .25% increase in the rate (.5% sounds like too much).  

Unless it has serious mold or structural issues that would prevent a bank from giving it the approval for traditional financing, securing the house at all could be a struggle.

A construction loan is different than a traditional loan.

As mentioned in a previous post, we are currently focusing on purchasing a multi-unit and live in one unit while renting out the other unit(s).If we did the traditional down payment route, we are setting our sights on a $40k down payment for a $200k home.

I do have some money to put down but wanted to know what other options are out there for financing rather than traditional banks and mortgage companies.

There is no traditional "duct" work going thru the wall.

@Jim PellerinI know you are in Canada, but sub2 is for folks that have some reserves and some "borrowability" at traditional lenders in case the loan gets called due.Now all the sub 2s I have done since 1986, I generally buy and resell quickly, like a rehab resell.And I have never had the loan called. 

When it comes to traditional lenders, smaller local or regional banks tend to be the best.

Just make sure you document your JV in writing with someone you trust.Less trouble is long-term hold in renting but you have to get creative to turn a traditionally low yielding asset (rental real estate) into something decent.