How much of your own money do you need to put in?
"How much do I have to put in?" is one of the first questions owners ask — and the honest answer is: enough that the lender believes you have real skin in the game.
Lenders rarely fund 100% of a project. They want you carrying meaningful risk alongside them, usually as cash or contributed assets. The exact share varies by lender and deal, but the principle is fixed: your contribution is a signal of commitment.
It's not just the dollar amount
A banker reads your injection as a proxy for how serious you are. Someone who's put their own savings on the line behaves differently than someone playing only with the bank's money — and everyone in the room knows it.
What counts
- Cash from savings or a prior sale
- Equipment or assets you already own and are contributing
- Sometimes, documented sweat-equity value — but treat this carefully
If you're light on cash
Be upfront. Show what you can contribute, name any co-investors, and lean harder on the other strengths — experience, collateral, a conservative plan. What you don't want to do is paper over a thin contribution and hope no one notices.
See where your plan stands
Paste the plan you have into the free Scanner. It scores you against the eight criteria Canadian lenders use — in about thirty seconds, no account, nothing leaves your device.
Score my plan — freeLenderReady is an educational service, not a lender, broker, or financial advisor. Lending criteria vary by institution and change over time; treat this as a starting point, not a guarantee.