Renewal Options

Tracy Head • January 26, 2024

It feels like I’m harping on the subject of mortgage renewals, and that may well be the case.


Many of my conversations with clients right now are deep dives into renewal options.


One of my calls this week really struck me. I was talking to Jim (name changed of course), a new client whose mortgage is currently with one of the big banks.


After we worked through the initial questions I start with, he shared that the renewal department of his current bank had started calling him in December. His mother had just had a stroke and he was at the hospital with her.


He tried to tell the renewal officer that it was a bad time. The person calling kept pushing him to commit to locking into a 5 year fixed term for his renewal and told him this ”great rate” would not be available if he didn’t commit that day.


He hung up. The renewal officer called repeatedly, sometimes up to three times per day.


Once I had a better idea of Jim’s situation and plans for the future we chatted about options for him.


As it turns out, he is on the home stretch towards having his mortgage paid out. More important is his plan to retire in three years, sell this home, and move to a smaller home that he already owns in the Oliver area.


He had no idea that he could even choose a three-year term. He has always gone with a five-year term thinking that was his only option.


We played with some figures to see how he could pay his mortgage off within his three-year plan. In his case, he will be staying with his current lender because that makes the most sense given his timeframe to retire and sell his home.


The eye-opening takeaway for me was the high-pressure sales tactic used by the renewal officer. Not all banks nor renewal officers operate the same way, but they often don’t take the time to get to know the clients they are working with never mind offer them options and solutions with the clients’ needs in mind.


If you have a mortgage renewal coming up over the next few months I encourage you to reach out to a mortgage professional to look into your options. Your renewal is the best time to make changes to your mortgage so it is important to invest some time to make sure you make the decision that is best for you, not your bank.

Tracy Head

Mortgage Broker

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Challenges

By Tracy Head • November 29, 2025
The topics I’ve written about over the years are almost always a reflection of a common theme I’ve seen or challenge I’ve dealt with since the last column I wrote. This one is no different.  The last few months, and particularly the last few weeks, have been among the most challenging in my mortgage career. I say challenging but that might also mean stressful. When working with clients and finding the right fit for their mortgage I look at many different factors. Rate is obviously one of the most important considerations. I also try to get a solid understanding of my clients’ short and longer term goals. For instance if the clients are looking to upsize from a home in the city to a rural property with acreage I will look at chartered banks or credit unions instead of a monoline lender. If the clients are purchasing a lease-hold property there are only a few lenders that will provide financing so that narrows the field. If the clients want direct access to manage their mortgage themselves I will place them with one of my favorite lenders that has an amazing client portal. Sometimes despite the client and the broker doing everything possible to ensure a smooth mortgage process things go sideways. Due to incredibly high volumes over the last few months I’ve seen refinance at renewal mortgages delayed by days or weeks. The stress for everyone involved is overwhelming. The most valuable lesson I’ve learned as a mortgage broker came from a wise more-seasoned broker about ten years ago. She said to me “when things are going sideways on a file, don’t get caught up thinking about what’s going wrong – think about what you need to do to fix it.” I have been hearing these words on repeat the last two weeks, and I think this is helping to keep me (and my clients) on track. If things do appear to be going sideways for you, I encourage you to connect with your mortgage person for regular updates.

Changes Affecting Financing

By Tracy Head • November 14, 2025
I consider myself a lifelong learner, which is part of the reason I love my work. Every day there is something new and exciting to learn, or in some cases re-learn. When I first came back to the mortgage world a more seasoned broker gave me a copy of a handout she used with clients. It talked about the ten most important things NOT to do between removing your financing subject and finalizing the purchase of your home. At the time I remember thinking that the handout sounded patronizing and I assumed clients just understood they shouldn’t do any of the ten things. You know what they say about assuming things. Once or twice my clients have made decisions that have almost jeopardized their financing. The reason this came up for me right now is that I am working my way through a training course which is geared towards helping me re-design my team and my workflow, with the ultimate goal of providing even better support to my clients. One of the changes I am going to implement is adding a list very similar to the original ten things not to do list to my signing packages so that we are all on the same page and avoid any potential challenges down the road. What are the ten things? I won’t go over all of them, but here are a few of the things that have surfaced recently: If you change the closing date on your purchase or if you receive the Notice of Completion on a newly built home, advise your mortgage person right away. Never assume your realtor will do this for you. Do not go out and finance anything without checking with your mortgage person. If you are pushing the upper limit of your buying power even a small loan for furniture might put your financing at risk. Many lenders pull your credit again shortly before your mortgage finalizes. Along the same lines, make sure all of your payments are made on time. Do not co-sign a loan for anyone. Do not quit your job or change employers without talking to your mortgage person ahead of time. Do not spend any of the money you have tucked away for your down payment. If you have money sitting in higher-risk investment better to move them to something more stable in case of market fluctuations. Most people think that once they get the ok to remove their financing subject that their mortgage is a done deal. The small print on every mortgage commitment includes a clause that says something along the lines of “Your financing is based on your current situation. Material changes to your situation prior to the funding of your mortgage may affect your approval.” I’m currently working with a young lady that decided to purchase a boat between the time we had our pre-approval conversation and the day she wrote her offer to purchase. She had decided not to buy a home then found her dream property. We’ve had to look at a few options as the boat payment threw her ratios out of line. She is fortunate that her parents are very supportive and are going to gift her the money to pay off the boat loan, but if she didn’t have that back up plan the new loan would have reduced her borrowing power by over $100,000. The reason I added the comment “without checking with your mortgage person” in the bullets above is that every client’s situation is unique and some of those changes might be just fine. Some might not, and the last thing you want to do is find yourself scrambling to figure out a Plan B shortly before closing.  Best to have the conversation and be certain.