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Stretching the amortization on a Grand Montréal mortgage lowers the payment and raises the total cost. Look at both numbers before you decide.
The 80% limit applies to the lender’s appraised value, so your purchase price and the neighbour’s sale don’t count. Add the penalty for breaking your term to the calculation. Sometimes it kills the whole idea.
Your mortgage statement with the balance and estimated penalty, the tax bill, your notices of assessment, and the list of debts you plan to pay off. Ask your current lender for the penalty in writing. The real number often differs from what they told you by phone.
As a rule you can refinance up to 80% of the value, minus what you still owe. A $500,000 home in Grand Montréal with $250,000 left on the mortgage works out to roughly $150,000, before you count the penalty for breaking the term.
Before comparing two monthly payments, add up what the change costs: the penalty, legal fees, the appraisal and the new loan’s fees. A lower payment that takes six years to pay back those costs is not a saving. Run the numbers for Grand Montréal first.
Stretching the amortization lowers the payment and raises the total cost. What matters is the total interest over the term, not the monthly difference.
A lower monthly payment and a lower total cost are two different things. Stretching the amortization eases the budget now and adds years of interest, so compare both figures before you sign anything.
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.
Up to 80% of the property’s value, as the lender’s appraisal sees it, not as the price you paid. If you break the current term, the penalty goes into the calculation, and it is often what decides whether the deal is worth doing.
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.