Mortgage blog.
Articles that answer the common questions, and case studies that work the same decisions through with real numbers.
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Posted rate or negotiated rate: how to read today’s rates
The posted rate is a reference, not a price. The gap with the negotiated rate changes your payment, and it also feeds into the penalty.
Top 10 mistakes to avoid at mortgage renewal
Ten common renewal mistakes: the offer signed without comparing, the forgotten penalty, the term picked without a plan.
Mortgage penalty: interest rate differential or three months’ interest?
A variable rate usually costs three months’ interest; a fixed rate, the higher of two calculations. One loan, three ways to calculate, three amounts.
When should you start comparing a mortgage renewal?
Open the envelope right away. The time left before maturity is what gives you negotiating room.
Refinancing: how much money you actually walk away with
From estimated value to the money that lands in your account: what gets taken off along the way.
Choose a term around your plans, not only the rate
A sale, a move, a repayment: choose your term to fit your calendar as much as the 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: what your budget can handle
Nobody knows where rates are going. Look at what your budget can absorb and what the contract allows.