What is the difference between a mortgage renewal and a refinance?
These two terms can definitely be a bit confusing.
Try to think of it like this:
Renewing your mortgage is essentially entering a new contract with your lender for another term at a new interest rate. Your lender is required by law to either send you a mortgage renewal statement or inform you that they won’t be renewing your mortgage, at least 21 days before your mortgage term expires.
You can renew with your current lender or switch to another lender. You can get an and lock in an interest rate 3 to 6 months (depending on your lender) before your mortgage term is due without paying a penalty.
About 85% of mortgage holders will renew with their current lender. Because of this, you should try to negotiate with your lender as they are unlikely to offer their best rate on your renewal statement. It’s helpful to be able to show your lender that other banks are offering a better rate. So, get your mortgage broker to shop around!
No. If you haven’t made all of your mortgage payments on time, there is a chance that your lender will not renew your mortgage.
No. Your insurance premium is paid when you first purchase the home and your policy will stay with your mortgage forever.
These two terms can definitely be a bit confusing.
Try to think of it like this:
There are a few reasons that people refinance their mortgages.
1 – You want to borrow equity that you have in your home. See all the details on our home equity loans page.
2 – You may want to extend the amortization in order to decrease your mortgage payments.
So, you’ve been paying your mortgage off for a while and have 15 years left on it. Your partner has been laid off and money is a little tight. You can increase the amortization back up to 25 or 30 years to significantly decrease your monthly mortgage payment.
3 – You want to break your current mortgage to get a better interest rate.
You’re a couple years into your mortgage term and interest rates have dropped. If you want to take advantage of the new rates before your renewal date, you’ll need to refinance your mortgage.
Yes, there will be costs associated with a refinance.
The amount of these costs will depend on how your original mortgage was set up. In some instances, you may need to break your original mortgage.
Yes. Anytime you add more funds or change the amortization of your mortgage, you will have to go through the complete application process again.
