Mortgage Renewal Tips to Save Money

Every few years your lender mails a renewal letter with a rate and a signature line. Most Canadians sign it and mail it back within days. Lenders count on this, renewal offers are priced for the loyal, not the vigilant.

Start 120 days out

Most lenders let you lock a renewal rate up to 120 days before maturity. That window is your leverage: shop the market early, hold the best rate, and if rates fall before closing, take the lower one. Waiting until the letter arrives shrinks your options to whatever's on it.

Never accept the first offer

The first number on a renewal letter is rarely the lender's best. A competing quote from a broker, even one you never act on, routinely knocks the 'loyalty' rate down. The bank's retention desk finds room the renewal letter didn't mention.

Switching is easier than you think

At renewal there's no penalty to change lenders, and most new lenders cover the transfer costs on a straight switch. Since 2024, insured mortgage holders can switch lenders at renewal without re-passing the stress test, which restored real shopping power to millions of borrowers.

Renewal is also renovation time

Maturity is the one penalty-free moment to restructure: consolidate the credit line into the mortgage, pull equity for a renovation, shorten the amortization now that income is up, or lengthen it because cash flow got tight. Any of these is dramatically cheaper at renewal than mid-term.

Don't autopilot the term, either

The default five-year fixed isn't automatically right. Where are rates heading? Are you likely to sell, move or refinance within the term? A three-year term or a variable with a conversion option sometimes fits your life far better than the default checkbox.

Send us your renewal letter when it arrives, a ten-minute review is free and the worst case is confirmation your lender treated you fairly. The common case is better.

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