1. Know what your current mortgage actually is, many of you will not know what type of mortgage you actually have because it wasn’t explained very well to begin with, one of the biggest issues we run into at renewal is that the client has been placed in a collateral mortgage and now credit cards and vehicles are all blanketed into your mortgage making it almost impossible to unwrap.

2. Start the process early so you don’t have a last minute problem. Mortgage rates can be locked in as early as 120 days in advance so that you don’t miss out on great rates available today.

3. Be aware of amortization remaining on your mortgage, if you have had a mortgage over the last 8 years it may have had an amortization period of up to 40 years. These mortgages are renewable at the remaining amortization period and if we switch lenders then that can be carried forward with that amortization.

4. Talk to your mortgage broker early in the process. Lenders wait until the last 30 days to make you an offer on your renewal. 85% of people auto renew their mortgage without finding out if it is the best deal for them. We constantly see offers for renewal coming out as high as point .25% higher than the existing rates available if you move your mortgage to another lender.

5. Be prepared with paper work as a new lender will need to see the basic paper work for your deal. They need to see you are employed and that property taxes have been paid the same as when you started your first mortgage. Have your last mortgage statement of pay out statement available so that the numbers will be correct.