New Year, New Mortgage

Tracy Head • December 30, 2024

As we close out 2024 and prepare to ring in 2025 today’s column will be short and sweet. Well, short in any case.

I think many of us tough out difficult financial situations until we are through the holidays. We put on a brave face and do our best to make everyone’s holiday season fun and festive.


January hits as does reality when we look at our bills and our account balances.


If you are feeling overwhelmed with your financial commitments and don’t know where to start, a conversation with your mortgage professional might be a good place to start. If you have equity in your home it may make more sense to remortgage and consolidate your consumer debt.


My advice is to try not to do that if you can avoid it, but feeling like you shouldn’t then falling behind with your credit cards and other loans will do more damage to your financial health in the long run.


Credit counselling organizations are already advertising heavily to this target audience. Clients sometimes think (or are led to believe) that this is an easy solution and better for their credit long-term. Not all credit counselling agencies are created equal and I can’t count how many clients are still dealing with the fallout from these arrangements years down the road.



If you have tried to refinance in the past and been told no, it may be worth taking another look at this approach. Lenders change their policies and your situation likely has changed as well.


Going into January can feel a bit heavy after the holiday celebrations and I encourage you to take a close look at your finances and set yourself up for a successful year.

Tracy Head

Mortgage Broker

GET STARTED

Early Renewal

By Tracy Head • August 27, 2025
Does an early renewal make sense? 2020 was a very busy year for home buying and mortgages. This means that 2025 is and has been a busy year for mortgage renewals as the majority of clients seemed to choose five year terms in 2020. I’ve had lots of conversations with my own and new clients about whether it makes sense to renew early. Each conversation is slightly different based on client needs and their individual circumstances. Most of the time I suggest that clients stay with their current lenders until their renewal dates because their current interest rates are anywhere between 1.6 per cent and 2.79 per cent. If you don’t need to make any immediate changes it makes the most financial sense to stay put until your term runs out. We can start the process of either switching or refinancing mortgages four months ahead of your renewal date and lock in a rate for you. As a generalization, when people ask about doing a straight switch (not adding any money to their mortgage) I will do a survey of what interest rates are available so they can go back to their lender to try to negotiate a great rate. Time and time again I’ve worked with clients on switches for them to cancel at the last minute as their current lender finally sharpens the pencil rather than lose the client. This is why I always try to help people negotiate with their current lender rather than put everyone through the work of having a new mortgage approved. If clients are wanting to add money to their mortgage to pay out consumer debt or pay for home renovations that changes things a bit. Some lenders are more aggressive with their refinance rates so it makes sense to make a move. Another situation has popped up this week that has had me crunching numbers for multiple clients. One of my favorite lenders came out with a quick-close rate special that is pretty hard to pass up. The fine print is that the new mortgage has to finalize within thirty days. I have been working on a refinance at renewal for clients that is set to close at the beginning of November. I took a look at how their current lender calculates the payout penalty when they are this close to renewal. It turns out they charge daily interest instead of a three-month interest penalty or interest rate differential. So I did the math. If we pay out early to take advantage of this great interest rate their payout penalty is around the $1000 mark. Over the term of the new mortgage they will save approximately $5500 in interest cost and their monthly payment will be about $85 per month less. Even after they pay out the penalty to move a bit early they will still be $4500 ahead over the term of their mortgage. This is one of the few times I’ve recommended that it makes sense to move forward ahead of the renewal date.  If you have a renewal coming up over the next few months I’d say it’s a good idea to connect with your mortgage person to look at what rates are available now and figure out whether it makes sense to consider making a move sooner rather than later. Lenders will pop up with rate specials from time to time so it is worth having your mortgage professional keep an eye open for you as your renewal date comes closer. It may just save you a significant amount of money.

Purchase Checklist

By Tracy Head • August 11, 2025
Last week was a vivid reminder of the importance of finalizing your home insurance as soon as you are within thirty days of your closing date on a home purchase. I had three clients with purchases closing on the Friday after the fire broke out in Peachland. All three had to push their closing dates back because they couldn’t get their insurance in place due to an active fire. Thinking about this led me to consider a few of the key steps involved when purchasing a home. I’ve written about this in prior columns but I feel a reminder is never a bad idea. There are a few areas of crossover between the guidance your realtor gives you and the advice you receive from your mortgage person. When your realtor writes your purchase contract there are some standard conditions that are added to the agreement. You will generally see the following: Subject to the purchaser obtaining satisfactory mortgage financing Subject to the purchaser having a home inspection conducted Subject to the purchaser arranging home insurance Subject to review of strata documents if applicable Subject to the sale of the purchasers’ current home if applicable The financing end is obviously our responsibility. I do double-check with my clients that they have taken care of the other conditions. Most realtors are great at offering support to their clients with respect to addressing the relevant conditions. In some cases I feel like realtors tell clients the steps they need to take but my guess is that the whole process can feel or become overwhelming. Before I give my clients the ok to remove their financing subject I confirm that they have taken care of the home insurance as this is one piece they sometimes miss.  If you are going through the process of purchasing a home my suggestion is keep a notebook (aging myself by suggesting a paper version) or a list on your phone to keep track of your must-do tasks as you go through the process. I have a checklist that I’m happy to share if you would like a copy.