Have some questions about what it’s like to work with a mortgage broker for renewing your mortgage? Let’s go over some of the top questions I hear.
No. Once your term matures you can move to another lender, usually without a penalty. The new lender does have to approve you.
Sometimes, and sometimes not. Factor in whether there are any switch costs and what product features you gain or lose. A tenth of a point is rarely worth a worse product.
It depends entirely on the gap between your offer and the market. The larger point is that shopping also surfaces structural improvements that have nothing to do with rate.
A single credit check as part of a mortgage application has a minimal and temporary effect. Multiple mortgage inquiries in a short window are typically treated as one event.
Nothing, in the vast majority of cases. We are compensated by the lender when the mortgage funds. Where a lender fee applies, such as on certain alternative lending files, we tell you that upfront.
About 120 days before your maturity date. That is the window where you can shop, secure a rate hold, and switch lenders without a penalty.
It depends on your original rate, your balance, and your remaining amortization. Someone renewing from a 2% rate into a rate in the fours is typically looking at a meaningful monthly increase. We can model your exact number in a few minutes.
Usually yes, if your term has matured. Switching mid-term is different and involves a penalty calculation, which is a separate conversation.
Yes, the new lender needs to qualify you. That is worth knowing early, because if your income or debt situation has changed, we want to plan for it rather than discover it late.
Then we plan around it. There are lenders who look at income differently and there are strategies that help. This is exactly the situation where starting early matters most.
