There are many reasons why people refinance their property. Getting a better mortgage rate or debt consolidation are just two of the reasons why people may choose to refinance.

If your refinancing involves leveraging your property for more than 80%, your mortgage will be subject to CMHC fees – please click here for more information on CMHC fees. CMHC fees are fees that are added to your mortgage and are blended into your mortgage payments for repayment. The fees are added on to the mortgage to insure the mortgage since the property is considered a high-leveraged property due to the fact that it has less than 80% equity.

If you are refinancing, please call to set up an appointment to discuss further.

I shall require the following:

• Proof of paid property tax bill prior to our meeting.
  
  
• A copy of your mortgage statement(s) and/or line of credit statement(s) prior to our meeting. This is required so that my office can order a Discharge Statement from your mortgage lender. Please note that upon discharge, mortgage lenders generally have the option to charge you (by tacking it onto your outstanding mortgage amount) the greater of a penalty of three months' interest or the interest rate differential. For more information on the interest rate differential, please click here.
  
  
• A copy of your home insurance policy for the property showing that the mortgage lender is the First Loss Payee or the Loss Insured prior to our meeting. Simply advise your home insurance provider to fax my office the home insurance certificate/binder confirming your mortgage lender’s information is on your policy. (Note that if you are refinancing your condominium, an insurance policy is not necessary with respect to the mortgage lender, unless otherwise advised.)
  
  
• If you are refinancing your condominium, a copy of the condominium Status Certificate may be required prior to our meeting. The Status Certificate can be obtained from your condominium head office for a fee of approximately $100.00 and, if required, should be remitted to my office as soon as possible. Please call to discuss further.
  
  
• 3 of the following 4 pieces of identification: Drivers License, Passport, SIN and/or Birth Certificate to be brought to our meeting.
  
  
• Void cheque, if applicable, to be brought to our meeting.
  
  
• Bills to be consolidated, if applicable, to be brought to our meeting.
  
  

When you break your mortgage prior to the end of your agreed upon term (whether by selling or refinancing your property), there may be a penalty charged by your mortgage lender for breaking the mortgage early. Mortgage penalties are not standardized and each mortgage lender uses their own method for calculating the penalty for breaking your mortgage. This means that depending on who your mortgage is with, your penalty may vary when compared to another lender’s penalty. Some of the lenders have made their calculators user-friendly, while others have not.

Below are the links to the prepayment charge calculators from many of the mortgage lenders:

• B2B Bank
• Bank of Montreal
• CIBC
• First National Financial
• HSBC
• ING Direct
• Laurentian Bank
• National Bank of Canada
• Manulife Bank
• Royal Bank
• Scotiabank
• Street Capital Corporation
• TD Canada Trust

Please note that the information in the above links are for informational purposes only and I do not warrant nor represent the accuracy of the information therein.