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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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.

What does your mortgage broker bring to the table

By Tracy Head • August 2, 2025
What does your mortgage broker bring to the table? I love what I do. Every day I learn something new. I meet amazing people. Each day is different and knowing that what I do is important is good for my soul. I had someone call the other day to ask some questions about a pre-approval and he finished up the call with a genuine question. Why would he want to work with a mortgage broker instead of his bank? There are many ways to answer that question. This isn’t intended to be a sales job about working with me but rather with mortgage professionals in general. Before you read any further understand that working with your bank may be the easiest solution for you. There are some amazing employees within the branch system so this is not intended in any way to make light of the work they do. As licensed professionals we work with mortgages every day. Most of us seem to live and breathe mortgages all the time including evenings and weekends. For many of us our families are annoyed by the constant distraction of our work. Boundaries are important of course and some brokers work a strict schedule. Many of us do make ourselves available evenings and weekends to help our clients because not everyone has the flexibility in their workday to deal with their mortgage. We work for you rather than one specific lender or financial institution so are looking for options that fit your situation rather than making your mortgage fit within one product. One of the most important differences between working with your bank and working with a mortgage professional is options. Not every client fits a cookie cutter approach. There are some situations where clients’ income doesn’t support their application in the traditional lending world. Sometimes clients have credit challenges. Sometimes clients are looking at a unique property. Mortgage professionals have access to a wide range of lenders, some of whom offer specialty products not available at your bank. Product knowledge and expertise can be another difference. As an example I work with many clients who are self-employed. There are mortgages specifically geared for self-employed clients that are available at banks as well but often the employees are unaware of these options.  For me, the relationship I build with my clients is the main differentiator about why I say clients should work with a mortgage professional rather than their bank. I take the time to get to know my clients and their situations and longer-term goals. I will still be here when their mortgage comes up for renewal and am able to answer questions in the meantime. I’ve had many clients comment over the years how much they appreciate the personal approach rather than feeling like a number at their bank - having to start from scratch with someone new each time they need help.