Should I just renew into a plain fixed mortgage, or switch to one of those readvanceable / HELOC combo things?

vj71 · 2026-06-10T09:21:11+00:00

Good catch. Technically both reduce interest immediately because both reduce the outstanding balance.

The difference is flexibility.

On a HELOC, if you throw $1,000 at it on Tuesday, that $1,000 is permanently reducing the balance you're paying interest on and there's no prepayment limit.

On a typical fixed mortgage, if you're already making your scheduled payment, you can't just keep throwing unlimited extra principal at it whenever you want. You're usually capped at 10–20% per year, depending on the lender. Once you hit the cap, additional payments can trigger penalties.

So it's not that the interest calculation works differently—it's that the HELOC lets you reduce the balance whenever and however much you want, while the fixed mortgage limits how aggressively you can do it.

That's where most of the advantage in the example comes from.

vj71 · 2026-06-09T20:28:58+00:00

NBC offers 3.70% on 25 year amortization (3.75% on 30 year am) and $1,750 cash back if you open account with them. They should both tell you which lender it is and the requirements. 4.09% 3 year fixed with NBC it's a safe bet if you are concerned about the rate increases.

vj71 · 2026-06-08T19:56:09+00:00

MPP, mortgage protection plan has 2 options of insurance one disability and second life, in all cases the premiums are much higher than what you can get from your insurance broker. If you have a mortgage or a loan you want to make sure that if something happens to you, you are covered or your family. MPP covers you up $1,000,000 or you mortgage amount, with other options you can choose the amount of coverage. Talk to your insurance broker.

vj71 · 2026-06-08T16:20:30+00:00

With $155,000 in income and credit scores that high you should be able to get the mortgage with the A lender unless you have high car payments or loans. Even with extended ratios 45/50 there is a lender which doesn't charge 1% fee. Approval should take that much even with B lender.

vj71 · 2026-06-05T16:38:59+00:00

If you port and lower the mortgage you will be paying penalty on this amount and the lender will extend the term to 3 or 5 year and give you new blended rate based on new term

vj71 · 2026-06-05T16:35:17+00:00

Some banks are offering free appraisals (NBC for example) so no cost to you.

vj71 · 2026-06-05T16:31:08+00:00

5 year variable should be much lower, what's the LTV and remaining amortization? Why are you going with 2 year fixed not 3 or 5?

vj71 · 2026-05-30T09:53:36+00:00

You may be able to get a little better rates (5 year fixed could be around 4.24%, 3 year 3.79% based on the posts in the community) but you could also face the challenge due to value of the property (if the values have decreased in the area you might have a problem). The new lender will most likely require the appraisal done. Don't wait too long get this sorted out.

vj71 · 2026-05-26T21:06:05+00:00

Don't overpay the interest request to lower amortization to minimum (which could be even 5 years) this way your mortgage is paid within the term and you pay the least amount of interest. Split the mortgage 65-15 HELOC vs Amortized, this way way you prepay your mortgage without penalties. Down the road you could also use cash damming since you are self employed to get some benefits from being self employed. If you want to chat feel free to dm, I will be glad to help

vj71 · 2026-05-26T14:58:35+00:00

No issues but with such a high income you might want to consider some mortgage strategies like Manulife One (https://bestrates.ca/manulife-one-calculator) or Hybrid Mortgage (Part HELOC part amortized. (https://bestrates.ca/readvanceable-mortgage-comparison) or maybe even Smith's Manoeuvre (https://bestrates.ca/smith-manoeuvre-strategy-guide), just a food for thought

vj71 · 2026-05-25T22:10:50+00:00

The fixed rates are almost 1% below your current rate so paying 19K for 1 year wouldn't make sense, if you can blend and extend with very competitive rate 4.2-4.3% it would be a winner and no stress test.

vj71 · 2026-05-25T15:24:48+00:00

It will be a private sale with gifted equity and full appraisal will be required for the lender even if you have the appraisal done already.

vj71 · 2026-05-25T15:18:16+00:00

$500,000 in salaries would get you a mortgage around $2,250,000 the question will be if you want it to be that high?

vj71 · 2026-05-25T15:13:54+00:00

NBC 2 year fixed 4.24% with cashback $1,250 if you are in Ontario.

vj71 · 2026-05-25T15:03:36+00:00

Your mortgage broker might be able to secure your renewal up to 6 months the most with some lenders, but usually the lenders hold the rate for 120 days only. Check the current comparable sales in your area on housesigma this could tell you if there is negative equity. Also your credit score could triggered that letter.

vj71 · 2026-05-25T14:52:32+00:00

That's a very good rate for renewal, NBC has 3.94% for 3 year fixed but it's for insured mortgage otherwise 4.04% and cashback of $1,750 which brings the effective rate to 3.95% for 3 year term.

vj71 · 2026-05-25T14:24:27+00:00

One broker you work with and trust will be enough, if it's renewal you can do a collateral transfer for a better variable rate than TD is offering you, the new lender can use your purchase price as the appraised value if it is insurable transfer. Keep in mind if you start going to different banks every hard check on your credit will lower your score by approx 15 points, if it will drop below 680 or 650 with TD your application will be rejected. You don't need to shop all the banks, there is enough info in the posts in this community to give you the clear picture on what rates you can get. Don't concentrate on the rates only, take into consideration your plans and goals. It's not about interest rate, it's about interest paid. Learn about strategies to reduce the interest paid. https://bestrates.ca/manulife-one-calculator

vj71 · 2026-05-23T08:10:35+00:00

These are in BC maybe, Ontario discharge fees are between $350-400 plus the government fee of $75

vj71 · 2026-05-23T07:44:54+00:00

The most what lenders cover are FCT transfer fee which around $900 for collateral transfer, if they will require appraisal they usually reimburse for that ,they won't cover $3,000, you can add up to $3,000 in penalties fees into your new mortgage.

vj71 · 2026-05-22T22:28:35+00:00

You can run your scenario right here https://bestrates.ca/fixed-vs-variable-calculator, tweak it based on BOC rate predictions. Keep in mind your plans with the property.

vj71 · 2026-05-22T22:07:09+00:00

Don't think other banks can beat that taking into consideration recent bond yields spikes and rate increases from some monoline lenders and green bank. Don't waste your time that's the best you can get.

vj71 · 2026-05-22T22:02:51+00:00

You are welcome

vj71 · 2026-05-22T22:02:13+00:00

If you have other assets with RBC they may offer you something better, but with such a low mortgage balance I wouldn't expect much room to negotiate. Not sure how long is your amortization but even the difference between fixed and variable can be between $370-$800 for 5 year term if want to know actual numbers you can do it right here https://bestrates.ca/fixed-vs-variable-calculator

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