Term, amortization, penalty formula and portability shape the real cost as much as the percentage. Two mortgages at the same rate can end up thousands apart if you have to break one or move it.
Try it against what might happen
Test the offer on a sale, a refinance, a lump-sum payment, a drop in income. If it only works when nothing changes, it’s fragile.
Let your timeline choose the term
How long you plan to keep the property should drive the term, not the reverse. Five years fits someone who’s staying. It punishes someone who might sell in two.
Documents to gather
What the lender will ask for.
What you’re trying to do
Income and paperwork
Debts and credit score
Property or collateral
When
Lenders you can use
Frequently asked
Which documents should I gather?+
Your last two notices of assessment, recent pay stubs, an employment letter, three months of bank statements and proof of your down payment. Before the offer, they keep a five-day financing condition workable. After, they add weeks.
Current rates
Today’s rates, with the fine print.
These rates are indicative. Yours depends on your file, the type of mortgage (insured or not) and the lender. And look at the penalty too, it matters as much as the number.
Buying, renewing, refinancing, or something a bit out of the ordinary: tell us where you’re at, even if it’s still fuzzy. Mathieu gets back to you with next steps and the documents to pull together.
