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Fixed or variable for a mortgage in Grand Montréal: the payment matters, but the penalty if you sell before the term ends matters more, and it is not worked out the same way.
A posted rate tells you little. What costs money later is in the fine print: penalty calculation, prepayment privileges, portability. The same rate at two lenders can still mean a difference of thousands if you break the term.
Compare offers on paper with all the conditions, not just the rate. Ask how the penalty is computed and what you can prepay. Could you move during the term? Then check portability now, before signing.
Start comparing four to six months before maturity. Most lenders will hold a rate that long, and switching at maturity carries no penalty. Once you sign the renewal notice that landed in your Grand Montréal mailbox, the leverage is gone.
The renewal notice your bank mails out is a starting point, not its best rate. One competing quote gives you something to negotiate with, and lenders active in Grand Montréal do compete for a client who already pays on time.
Switching lenders in Grand Montréal means making the whole case again: current proof of income, a mortgage statement, the tax bill and, most of the time, a new appraisal. Staying put spares you all that, at the price of a rate you did not negotiate.
A sale, renovations or a lump-sum payment in the next few years should guide the term you pick, not the other way around. Maturity is also the one time you can prepay with no penalty, whatever your plans in Grand Montréal look like.
To prepare
Yes. It all runs by phone, email or video call, and documents go through online. We can meet in person, but most files get settled without anyone having to travel.
Not if the penalty for breaking the mortgage is worked out differently. Two lenders at the same rate can end up thousands of dollars apart if you break the term. Look at how the penalty is calculated and what prepayment allows before you sign.
Pick the situation closest to yours.
Contact
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.