GET STARTED ON YOUR
MORTGAGE REFINANCE 
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How to refinance your mortgage                                                                      

Whether you want to complete a home renovation, consolidate debt, take out an equity line of credit, access equity in your home, send a child to University or purchase an investment property, refinancing your existing mortgage will offer you the most cost-effective solution.

Refinancing is the "gold standard" when it comes to borrowing money because secured financing is the cheapest financing available anywhere in the country. Having the ability to access money at extremely low-interest rates is useful if you want to use your property's equity to consolidate your debts. Refinancing your existing mortgage is your best option for a number of reasons.

Reasons To Refinance Your Current Mortgage
​Whether you want to complete a home renovation, consolidate debt, take out an equity line of credit, access equity in your home, send a child to university or purchase an investment property, refinancing your existing mortgage can offer you a valuable solution.
When you are refinancing your mortgage, there are a few ways to go about obtaining the money. You can borrow off credit lines or re-borrow available equity:

Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC): A credit line is similar to getting a loan, and it has an interest rate attached to it; however, this is not actually a loan. The borrower is allowed to borrow on the credit line as it becomes available and, depending on how much you use, you may be paying interest or not. The monthly payment of a HELOC is only the interest of whatever the running balance. It is also "open" meaning there will not be a pre-payment penalty for breaking early.

Re-borrowing equity: Refinancing an existing mortgage means that there is equity in the property, meaning it has increased in value since you bought it. If your home increased in value since you bought it, then you can take advantage of the equity in your home to access money for whatever reason.

​Locked-in rate: When you refinance your mortgage the rates are usually lower than they were before when you took out the original loan; locking in at this lower interest rate is important because it protects against future rate increases.

Equal Payment: When you refinance your mortgage, the payments will be the same as they were before, with a few exceptions. You may have a shorter or longer amortization period, meaning a different repayment amount. Also, if your home increased in value you can access any equity that is available to help reduce the overall amount of money you need to borrow.

Cash Out: One key reason anyone refinances their mortgage is to access the increased equity in their home and then take that extra cash and put it towards another goal like paying off debt or investing for retirement.

Debt Consolidation: Refinancing your mortgage may mean that you can consolidate your consumer debt into a lower-interest rate loan.

Prepayment: One of the benefits to refinancing your existing mortgage is that you can pay off the principal more quickly and use less interest over time. This will allow you to become debt-free sooner than you would by making only the regular payments and not taking advantage of any extra interest-free payments you can make.

Bad Credit: If you have bad credit and owe a significant amount of money on your mortgage, refinancing may be the solution to save yourself from bankruptcy or foreclosure by getting a better loan with more manageable payments.

Mortgage Loan Insurance: Borrowers who do not have a down payment of 20% or more are required to get mortgage loan insurance. This protects the lender in the event that you are unable to make your payments because you have bad credit or some other issue that made it difficult for you to qualify for a regular mortgage.

Prepayment Penalties: If you refinanced your existing mortgage, you will want to make it a point to check for pre-payment penalties. This means that you cannot necessarily pay off your loan early without incurring some kind of cost – something all borrowers should be aware of.
Costs Associated With Refinancing
Prepayment Penalty: Your existing lender may charge you a pre-payment penalty for breaking your mortgage contract early. Your penalty is determined either by the IAD (Interest Rate Differential) or three months' worth of interest.

Closing Costs: When you refinance a mortgage, you may incur closing costs which would include administrative fees and appraisal fees. It is important to take note of what these are so that you are prepared for them.

Mortgage Loan Transfer Fee: This fee means that you take over the existing mortgage from whoever was originally holding it and would be required if you were refinancing a mortgage with someone else.

Discharge Fee: Some lenders require this fee. It may even include a statement that says the discharge of condition will have to be provided within a certain period of time or that there will be a penalty for failing to do so.

In order to refinance your mortgage, you will require a lawyer. A lawyer must discharge the existing mortgage and register the new mortgage in favour of your new mortgage lender. Legal fees vary from firm to firm so it's important to check around and compare prices. Usually, legal fees are between $750 to $1,500.

What Is The Most You Can Refinance
You can refinance your home to up to 80 percent of your home’s value, provided you qualify.