Read Your Mortgage Renewal Offer

Tracy Head • April 20, 2023

Twice over the last week I’ve had conversations with clients regarding their mortgage renewal offers that have really concerned me.


If you are new to the mortgage world, when you first get a mortgage you choose a term of anywhere from 6 months to ten years. Your interest rate (if fixed) is locked in for this period of time. At the end of whichever term you chose, your mortgage is up for renewal. You can choose to stay with your same lender or look for another lender.


As a rule, when I am working with my clients leading up to their renewal date I research to see what is available for them in terms of options. If they are planning to renew their mortgage without making any changes the first place I check is their current lender. Signing a renewal offer is pretty straightforward. You consider the options presented by your current lender, select your preferred choice, and sign on the dotted line.


If clients are planning on going this route I offer guidance and support to try to get them the best rate possible with their current lender. Unless there is a dramatically better offer with another lender this is the path of least resistance for you. For my own clients, I selected their original lender for a combination of reasons so it often makes sense for them to stay put.


If clients are wanting to pull equity from their home or add a credit line to their current mortgage then we look a little further afield. The two conversations that concerned me this week were with clients planning to stay the course with their current lender. Both clients were with the same lender.


Their renewal offers arrived with the rate of 6.14 per cent for a five-year term. In one case the clients had an insured mortgage, and in the other the client owed less than fifty per cent of the value of his home.


For perspective, most lenders are offering around 4.64 per cent for insured mortgages right now. Several lenders, including the one both of these clients are with, are offering the same rate for clients who have more than 35 per cent equity in their homes. After several back and forth requests with the lender, both of these clients signed their renewals at 4.64 per cent.


For the larger of these two mortgages, the interest difference between the two rates amounted to a savings of $26,673 over the next five years. Better yet, the difference in the monthly payment was $328.94. With costs soaring across the board $328.94 a month goes a long ways towards covering other expenses.


What was particularly concerning for me was a comment from one of these clients. She said “If you hadn’t reached out to help us with our renewal we would have just signed off thinking that was the best rate they would offer us”. I cannot stress enough how important it is to connect with a mortgage professional to look into your mortgage renewal options. Have your mortgage balance at renewal available, as well as the value of your home. It is also important to know if your mortgage is insured (when you purchased you had less than 20 per cent down payment).



Having this information handy when you reach out to your mortgage professional will help them narrow

down the best options for you.

Tracy Head

Mortgage Broker

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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.