Mortgage Renewals
Mortgage Renewals in Niagara and Hamilton
The five minutes most people don’t spend.
Renewal is the one point where you can change how your mortgage is built without moving and without a lawyer. Most letters get signed with the same amortization, the same payment schedule and the same terms carried straight into another five years. We start with what the next five years actually need, then find the fit. Sometimes that means a different lender. Often it is the one you already have.
Book a Renewal Review
The Renewal Strategy
Renewing your mortgage is the perfect time to reassess your financial goals. We help you make an informed decision based on your current situation.
Switch Lenders
Moving to a different lender at renewal is usually straightforward, and often carries no legal or appraisal cost. It is worth looking at when the structure you need is not something your current lender offers. Sometimes the answer is that staying put is the better deal.
Term Length Analysis
Should you go with a 3-year or 5-year term? Fixed or variable? We model the scenarios to help you choose the right path.
120-Day Rate Hold
We can lock in a rate up to 120 days before your renewal date, protecting you from rate increases while you decide.
The Renewal Strategy
Don't just sign the renewal letter. Have a plan. See your timing, forecast your new payment, and learn the rule that just changed in your favour.
21 days versus 120 days
Federally regulated lenders are required to send you a renewal statement at least 21 days before your term ends. It has to show your balance, your rate, your payment, your term and any fees, and it has to confirm the rate will not go up before your renewal date.
Twenty one days is the legal minimum, not a planning window. Most lenders will hold a rate for you 120 days out, and a few go to 180.
So the offer usually lands with three weeks left, on a window that opened four months ago. Nothing about that is unfair. It is just how the two timelines are written, and it only costs you if nobody tells you.
If you only ever see one renewal offer, you are not choosing. You are confirming.
Renewing is not guaranteed, and that is worth knowing early
Your mortgage does not automatically roll into a new term. A lender is not obligated to offer you one, and if they are not going to, they have to tell you inside that same 21 day window.
For most people this is a non event. If your income has changed, if you have moved to self employment, if you have taken on new debt, or if your property value has moved, it is much better to know at 120 days than at 21.
Rate is one line on the page
A renewal review looks at the whole mortgage:
- Rate and term. Fixed, variable, and how long you commit for.
- Amortization. How many years are left, and whether that number still fits your life.
- Payment fit. What the payment does to your actual monthly budget, not a theoretical one.
- Prepayment privileges. How much you can put down each year without a charge.
- Portability. What happens if you move mid term.
- Penalty structure. How your lender calculates a break penalty. This is the single most expensive line in most mortgages and it almost never comes up at renewal.
- Debt. Whether consolidating higher interest debt into the mortgage helps, or costs you more over time.
- Equity. Whether you should be accessing some, and what that does to your options.
- What is coming. A move, a separation, retirement, a business, a child starting school somewhere else.
Staying put is often the right answer
We are not here to move your mortgage. We are here so you know why it stayed or why it moved.
What is true about switching at maturity
- There is no prepayment penalty at maturity. Your term is ending. You are free to go, and free to stay.
- A straight switch does not face the stress test. Since November 21 2024, an uninsured straight switch to another federally regulated lender is exempt from the OSFI minimum qualifying rate. A straight switch means the same balance, no increase in amortization, and no equity taken out. You still have to qualify on income, credit and debt servicing, but you are not being tested at your rate plus two percent.
- Most switch programs cover the standard costs. Legal and appraisal costs are commonly covered by the incoming lender on a straight switch. We confirm this file by file before we recommend anything.
- Taking equity out is a different transaction. A refinance is not a straight switch, and the stress test does apply.
What is true about staying
- It is faster, simpler, and there is less paperwork.
- Your existing lender already knows your file.
- If the numbers say stay, we will say stay, and you will have the comparison in writing.
What actually changes
We do not publish rates. They change constantly, a number on a page is not an offer, and a rate on its own tells you nothing about whether a mortgage fits your life. What we can show you is how the moving parts affect a payment. Your actual numbers come from a conversation.
Payment change
On a $400,000 balance with 20 years of amortization left, an increase of two percentage points works out to roughly $400 more a month, or close to $4,800 a year.
Why a small gap matters
On that same balance, two tenths of a percentage point is about $40 a month, and roughly $4,900 over a five year term once you count the interest and the higher balance left at the end.
The amortization lever
Stretching a 20 year remaining amortization back out to 25 cuts the payment by roughly 13 percent, about $310 a month. It also means five more years of payments and more interest overall.
Not ready to talk yet? Tell us your renewal date and we will reach out about five months ahead, while there is still room to plan.
Illustrative only. Not a rate quote, an offer to lend, or a commitment. Every file is different.
Questions we get asked
When should I start looking at my renewal?
About 120 days before your maturity date. That is the standard rate hold window at most lenders, and a few will hold up to 180 days. Earlier is not wasted either, it just means we make a note and come back to you when the window opens.
When will my lender contact me about renewing?
Federally regulated lenders must provide a renewal statement at least 21 days before the end of your term, showing your remaining balance, the interest rate, payment frequency, term length, any applicable charges, and confirmation that the offered rate will not increase before your renewal date.
Do I have to pass the stress test to switch lenders at renewal?
Not on a straight switch. Since November 21 2024, an uninsured straight switch to another federally regulated lender is exempt from the OSFI minimum qualifying rate, as long as the balance does not increase, the amortization does not get longer, and you are not taking equity out. You still have to qualify on income, credit and debt servicing. If you are refinancing or taking equity out, the stress test does apply.
Is there a penalty to switch lenders at renewal?
No. At maturity your term has ended, so there is no prepayment penalty. Breaking a mortgage before maturity is a different situation with a real cost, and we will walk you through that math if it applies to you.
What does it cost to work with Fusion?
Nothing. We are paid by the lender when a mortgage funds. That includes a review where the recommendation is to stay put.
Can my lender refuse to renew my mortgage?
Yes. Renewal is not automatic and a lender is not obligated to offer you a new term. They are required to tell you inside the same 21 day window if they will not be renewing. It is uncommon, and it is a much better problem to find at 120 days than at 21.
Should I take fixed or variable right now?
That depends on your tolerance for payment movement, how long you plan to hold the property, and what else is happening in your life over the next few years. We will not tell you where rates are going, because nobody knows. If you want to follow the backdrop yourself, the Bank of Canada publishes its current policy rate. That rate moves prime, which is what variable rate mortgages track. Fixed rates follow bond yields instead, which is why the two do not always move together.
My renewal is more than a year away. Is it too early to talk?
No. Give us your maturity date and we will hold it in the calendar, then reach out about five months out while there is still room to plan. There is no cost and no obligation.
What if my income has changed or my property is worth less than it was?
Then the conversation matters more, and earlier is better. Reduced equity, a switch to self employment, a leave, a separation or new debt all change what is available to you. There are usually more options at 120 days than at 21.
Do I have to switch lenders to work with you?
No. Plenty of our renewal reviews end with the client staying exactly where they are, with better terms or simply with the confidence that the offer was fair.
Let’s start with a conversation.
Thirty minutes. No pressure. No rate-shopping. We listen, we ask questions, and we tell you whether the mortgage you are thinking about is actually a win for your future.
Typical 24h-48h turnaround time for a fully underwritten pre-approval.
Who you actually work with
A renewal is the cheapest moment you will ever get to change something, and the easiest one to sleep through. Both of us work every file.
Kelly Foote
Mortgage Broker · FSRA #M21002713
Certified Divorce Specialist · Certified Canadian Reverse Mortgage Consultant
Niagara born and built, and the systems side of how a file actually gets run.
Lisa Reynolds
Mortgage Broker · FSRA #M15000477
Certified Canadian Reverse Mortgage Consultant
30+ years in the industry, and the lender strategy behind the harder files.
Fusion Mortgage Group is a team of licensed mortgage brokers with BRX Mortgage Inc., Mortgage Brokerage #13463.
Ready to make your move?
Whether you're buying your first home, renewing your mortgage, or going through a separation, we're here to help. Book a discovery call or send us a message below.