Porting Your Mortgage

Tracy Head • August 9, 2024

Most lenders say that their mortgages are portable.


What does this mean?


The simplest way to explain porting is this – if you sell your current home, rather than charging a penalty to pay out your current mortgage, your lender transfers the terms and conditions (and balance) of your mortgage to your next home.


Key here is knowing that porting isn’t always an option. Its also important to note that porting isn’t always the best option.

Its important to do the math to see if porting makes sense.


Porting policies differ from lender to lender and product to product.


As an example, my favorite lender will only port a variable mortgage on the same day (ie: the current mortgage is paid out and the replacement mortgage finalizes the same day) and dollar-for-dollar. This means you take the exact same amount of money and are not able to increase the size of the mortgage if you need more money.


Another of my go-to lenders will allow a port of a variable rate mortgage and use their blend and extend policies so you can increase the amount of funds if needed.


Many lenders offer a blend and extend option when porting their mortgages. This means that should you need additional money for your purchase those funds are added to your current mortgage and the lender comes up with a new blended rate based on a calculation of original mortgage funds sitting at the rate you initially signed at and the new funds needed sitting at current interest rates. 


One of the chartered banks moves the exact same mortgage to the new property and adds a second mortgage for any additional funds required.


I like to do the math for clients to see if porting is the best route, or if it makes more sense to pay a penalty to take completely new rates.


As an example, I’m working with a young couple right now that renewed into a new five year term in May at 5.14 per cent. After two years of searching their dream home came on the market. They are needing almost three times the amount of mortgage as compared to their current mortgage.


In this case, as we are working with the same lender they are being charged three months’ interest penalty instead of an interest rate differential penalty which would be approximately four times higher.


They are electing to pay the penalty (calculated at $2600) and take a completely new mortgage at 4.59%.

I looked at the interest savings and in this case the clients are saving over $9,000 over the next five years by paying the $2600 penalty.


Staying with the current lender and porting the current mortgage is almost always what I recommend to my clients. I do the math and most times it makes sense to port.


Sometimes, however, it does make sense to pay a penalty and start fresh.


If you are selling and buying mid-way through your mortgage term I encourage you to connect with your mortgage person to see what makes the most sense for you financially. You may be a bit surprised as to where the numbers land.

Tracy Head

Mortgage Broker

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By Tracy Head May 19, 2025
I know this is a dumb question but ….  I should probably know this already …. I’m sorry to ask so many questions but …. So many times clients start out with one of these statements. They feel like they should have a better understanding of the mortgage process or terminology. The truth is that buying a home is not a simple journey. Applying for a mortgage is not a cake walk. And even if you’ve been through the process in the past the goal posts seem to move faster than you can keep up. One of the reasons I love (most days) my work is that I am able to spend as much time as I need with my clients helping them understand their financing. When I worked for one of the chartered banks in a previous life I was so tightly scheduled that when our time was up that was it. Someone else had an appointment that I needed to be on time for. Clients have different learning and communication styles. Some come well-versed and understand the mortgage process; others have not done any research and need a lot of hand-holding. My goal is to make sure that by the time they are signing their legal paperwork in front of their lawyer my clients understand the decisions they have made and the rationale behind them. Whether it is the first time you are buying a home or you are looking to refinance your current mortgage it is important that you find a professional to work with that is patient and non-judgmental. In a beautiful world you connect with someone that has bought and sold a few of their own homes and has been working in the mortgage world for a while. It can feel very intimidating to bare your soul to a complete stranger. We often don’t share details of our finances with anyone except our banker / spouse and in some cases I find clients may feel embarrassed about the state of their finances. We see via social media others living lavish lifestyles and somehow feel we should be doing the same. The bottom line is that whether this is your first plunge into the homeownership pool or you are a veteran in the market, it is so important to connect with someone that takes the time to understand your situation and your goals. Knowing your long-term plan and how you handle your finances can help your mortgage professional set you up for success. Please please please make sure you ask all of the questions, even if you think you should know that answers. Guessing that you understand something or bluffing without listening to your mortgage professional’s advice can cause unnecessary grief down the road.
By Tracy Head May 5, 2025
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