The new payment your lender is proposing seems fine. Whether it is a good one is another question. Staying, switching, and restructuring don’t cost the same.
The quoted rate says nothing about the future penalty, prepayment privileges, or the flexibility you’ll need if you sell. We put every offer on the same balance, the same amortization, the same period, before anything gets signed.
Compare my renewal with MathieuI have access to more than twenty lenders: major banks, credit unions, and specialized lenders. I compare the rate, but also the penalty method, prepayment privileges, and portability, because a renewal is a contract for the years ahead, not just a number.
The renewal offer shows up in the mail, it looks fine, and signing is easier than shopping. Your bank knows that. I go see what other lenders will do on your balance and show you the gap. Sometimes staying is the right call, but you’ll know it instead of assuming it.
Send me the terms your lender is proposing. A photo or the figures typed out is enough.
I go find what other lenders will do on your balance, with your actual conditions.
Same balance, same amortization, same term. With transfer costs and what happens if you sell before maturity.
You stay or you move. If we transfer, I handle the paperwork and coordinate so nothing drags past your maturity date.
Your lender can bring your payment down by stretching the amortization out a few more years. That’s not the rate doing it: it’s less principal repaid each month, and a bigger balance at the next maturity. Always read the length beside the payment.
A small rate gap always looks appealing on paper. But if you sell or move before maturity, it’s the penalty calculation method and the portability clause that decide whether you came out ahead. Those clauses I read before comparing rates.
In most files you pay nothing: I’m paid by the lender that secures your financing. What it costs, in detail
The balance, remaining amortization, and offer received are enough to prepare a useful initial comparison.
A few months before maturity. That gives me time to understand your situation, your plans, and what needs updating. The exact window for receiving offers varies by lender. The main advantage of starting early is comparing without the date pressing on you.
Sometimes: discharge, appraisal, legal, or administrative fees, depending on the mortgage and the institution. Some get covered by the new lender, some don’t. I put them on the table before you decide, otherwise the apparent saving can melt away once the switch goes through.
If you significantly change the balance, the amortization, or the borrowers, it stops being a renewal: it becomes a refinance, with a full review. I show you both scenarios side by side, so you can see what goes through simply and what calls for a new structure.
Portability sometimes lets you carry your current conditions to a new property. But it’s never automatic: it depends on the agreement, the lender, the new application, the dates, and the amount needed. If a move is possible in your horizon, I read the clause before the renewal, not after.
It can give you predictability. But it has to be compared with what it costs to change the mortgage before maturity, with the rates available, and with your plans. I calculate the scenarios on the same dates and the same balance. Accepting early isn’t automatically a win, and neither is waiting.
Major banks, credit unions, and specialized lenders each apply their own criteria, products, and terms. A logo does not mean that a mortgage will be offered or approved.
