“The money’s in the house. Your life needs it out here.”
Debt compounding at 21%. A basement that could be a rental suite. A tax bill, a buyout, a business, the next property. Eleven situations, one tool — and a calculator that shows your number before anyone pulls your credit.
Anonymous · No credit check · 60 seconds
One honest thing before the doors: a refinance is a new approval. You’ll requalify under today’s rules — stress-tested at your rate plus 2% — and borrow up to 80% of the home’s value. For the situations below, that price is usually worth paying. Just renewing with no need for equity? A straight switch skips all of this →
Which door is yours?
Nobody refinances for fun. Something specific brought you here — find it below, then book a call or run your number.
Debt consolidation
“Everything costs 21% except the one loan secured by my house.”
Cards, personal loans and car payments compound while your equity sits idle. Rolling them into the mortgage often frees four figures a month — one payment, one rate, and more of it going to principal instead of interest.
Book a call →02CRA tax arrears
“The CRA letters keep coming. I own a home and still can't pay them.”
Home equity is the fastest legitimate way to settle tax arrears and stop the interest and collection action in one funding — discreetly, through lenders who work with these files every week. Banks decline them. That's where we start.
The confidential walkthrough →03Basement rental suite
“The basement is just storage. It could be $2,400 a month.”
Insured refinance programs now let you borrow up to 90% of your home's post-construction value to build a basement rental suite, garden suite or laneway home — and the future rent helps you qualify. This is the most popular file on my desk right now.
Book a call →04First + second into one
“A first at one rate, a second at another. I'm paying two lenders to own one house.”
If you took a second mortgage or private loan when you needed it, combining both into one clean first mortgage usually drops the blended rate and the monthly in the same stroke. There's one number that decides whether now is the moment.
Book a call →05Spousal buyout
“I want to keep the house. I need to buy out my ex.”
Specialized programs allow buyouts up to 95% of the home's value — one settlement, one signature, and the house stays home.
Book a call →06Renovations
“We love the house. We've outgrown the kitchen.”
A refinance funds the renovation at mortgage rates instead of loan rates — and the value it adds stays in your walls.
Book a call →07Investment property
“The next property is out there. The down payment is in here.”
Equity in your home becomes the down payment on the rental or pre-construction closing — structured so both properties carry properly.
Book a call →08Business capital
“My business needs capital. Merchant advances want 30%.”
Equity at mortgage rates beats merchant cash advances and unsecured business loans by a distance most owners never calculate.
Book a call →09Lower payments
“We don't need money out. We need the monthly to come down.”
Re-amortizing over a longer term can drop the payment materially — breathing room now, with prepayment privileges to catch up later.
Book a call →10Help your kids buy
“They'll never save a GTA down payment. We're sitting on one.”
A structured equity gift moves the down payment across generations without selling anything — done properly, with the paperwork lenders require.
Book a call →11Investing & wealth strategy
“My money works hard at home. It could be working in more places.”
Home equity is commonly used as part of a broader investment strategy, structured alongside your licensed financial advisor — with borrowing costs and tax treatment reviewed before a dollar moves.
Book a call →Four steps, everything in writing
Map your door
A quick, confidential call on which of the eleven situations is actually yours, no credit pull, no documents yet.
The math in writing
Penalty cost versus monthly savings, side by side, including whether waiting for renewal beats refinancing now.
One application, 70+ lenders
Banks, monolines, credit unions and alternative lenders compete on one file, you don't reapply eleven times.
Funding day
Debts, seconds or buyouts are paid directly from the lawyer's trust account at closing. One mortgage going forward.
The questions that decide a refinance
What penalty will I pay to break my current mortgage?
How much equity can I actually access?
Do I have to requalify under the stress test?
Will refinancing hurt my credit?
Should I wait until my renewal date to refinance?
I'm self-employed, what documents will I need?
Rick Sekhon · Licensed Mortgage Broker · Real Mortgage Associates Inc. · FSRA Lic. #10464 · Independently owned and operated.
Licensed by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA). All examples and calculator results on this page are for illustration only, are not a rate offer, quote or financial advice, and are subject to credit approval, income verification and property appraisal (OAC). Rates change frequently. Secondary-suite refinance program terms (up to 90% loan-to-value of as-improved value, maximum $2,000,000 property value) are set by CMHC, Sagen and Canada Guaranty and subject to their guidelines, including permitted use of funds, owner occupancy and municipal requirements for the suite. Spousal buyout loan-to-value limits and stress-test rules are subject to the insurer and federal guidelines in effect at time of application.
Just renewing, with no need to pull equity or restructure? You may not need any of this — a straight switch skips the stress test entirely →