Skip to content

Mortgage blog.

Articles that answer the common questions, and case studies that work the same decisions through with real numbers.

Quebec river crossed by a bridge

Format

AllArticlesCase studies
FilterRenewal

Category

AllFirst purchasePurchaseRefinanceRefinancingRenewalRental property

Profile

AllBuyerCo-borrowerFirst-time buyerHomeownerHomeowner with debtInvestorNewcomerPrivate mortgageProspective buyerRenovating homeownerSelf-employedVariable-income borrower

When should you start comparing a mortgage renewal?

Open the envelope right away. The time left before maturity is what gives you negotiating room.

Choose a term around your plans, not only the rate

A sale, a move, a repayment: the term length should follow your life, not just the best posted rate.

Mortgage penalty: calculate the cost before making a change

Before you sell, switch, or refinance: get a written amount, with a date on it, and add it to your costs.

Fixed or variable: the question isn’t where rates are headed

Nobody knows where rates are going. Look instead at what your budget can absorb, and what the contract allows.

Renewal with variable income

Stay with your lender or move the mortgage elsewhere? It depends on the income your documents can support this year.

Renewal compared before maturity

Your lender sends you an offer. We put it on the same footing as the others: balance, term, privileges, and switching costs included.