Are you starting to feel like your mortgage may not be the right one for you? Is it time to refinance? Maybe you’ve been plugging away at it for years, and it doesn’t feel like you’re making any headway in terms of paying it off. Maybe you want to find a way to make the payments more manageable. Or perhaps you want to free up some cash to do some much-needed repairs or to pay for an unexpected expense. If that’s the case, it could be time to break up with your mortgage.

Refinancing your mortgage is like hitting the financial refresh button, and it’s all about making sure it’s worth your while. But, how do you know if it’s worth your while? What does that even mean? Well, let’s start at the very beginning…

Mortgage Refinancing – What Is It?

Refinancing your mortgage opens up the possibility of tweaking your loan terms that might not have been ‘perfect’ in your initial mortgage agreement.  The process isn’t all that different from when you first dove into the world of home loans and applied to get pre-approved for the mortgage you needed. 

Want a lower interest rate or a quicker path to debt freedom? A mortgage refinance can open up this potential. Or maybe you need to add or remove a borrower from your mortgage. Consulting an experienced mortgage broker, like myself, will help you evaluate the risks and rewards of refinancing.

When Is It A Good Idea To Refinance Your Mortgage?

As an Accredited mortgage broker, you can work with me to figure out whether or not it’s the right time to refinance your mortgage. Specifically, these are a few reasons you might want to consider a mortgage refinance at this point in time:

• It’s possible to get a lower mortgage rate. Shopping around is a good way to find out just how low of a rate you might be able to secure.
• You want to change the term of your mortgage. If your income has gone up recently, you might want to increase your payments and decrease the length of your mortgage. Alternatively, you may want to increase the term to reduce your payments to make them more manageable.
• If your credit score has gone up, or your debt-to-income ratio has gone down. This may have an effect on your mortgage rate since there is less risk involved for the lender.
• When you want to switch your mortgage from a variable to a fixed rate, or vice versa. 
• When you want to use the equity in your home to finance renovation projects, post-secondary education, or other large expenses.

When Is The Wrong Time To Refinance Your Mortgage?

There’s a possibility that the time is not right for you to make this big move. For example, these are a few scenarios where it doesn’t pay to refinance your mortgage.

• You’re selling your home soon. You need to stay in your home long enough to recoup your closing costs or you could end up losing money.
• You’re close to paying off your existing mortgage. A new, long-term loan means you’ll pay significantly more in interest charges over time.
• Your credit score is not strong. This can bump up the refinance mortgage rate and cost you more money in the long run.
• You need to focus on other financial goals. Be sure to prioritize your high-interest debt or put funds into emergency savings before you consider refinancing.
• You could face a hefty penalty. Check your original mortgage agreement to see what this could cost you.

Is This A Good Time To Refinance My Mortgage?

Right now, the BoC (Bank of Canada) prime interest rate is at its highest in years. Will it go up or down? No one can really say. However, you may need to refinance your mortgage now, and waiting isn’t an option. Or, you may want to explore the advantages of other options, like a home equity line of credit. Navigating the world of mortgage options can be difficult so it’s important to get expert advice from a mortgage broker and to lay your cards on the table so we can talk about real financial solutions and rates. 

Whether you want to refinance your mortgage to decrease your payments, take out equity in your home, or renew the terms of your loan, I can help you devise a plan to help you achieve your financial goals. Sometimes giving a little here, to get a little more there makes more sense in the long term and you should also know that I’ve got options the banks don’t. So, if you’ve had a hard time getting approved or you’re concerned about how your cash flow might be impacted by your decisions, let’s talk. 

Working with me is free and I’m happy to answer any and all of your mortgage questions to help you make informed decisions along the way. Give me a call today at (705) 315-0516 or click here to book a consultation and we’ll take a look at your current mortgage, whether or not it makes sense to refinance your mortgage right now, and if there are other options available to you.