The years between closing and renewal, where most of the interest is actually paid. The decisions here are smaller than the ones in stages 3 and 4, but they compound, and a few of them are irreversible until maturity.
Pekoe Mortgages is licensed in Ontario (FSRA #13321) and Alberta (RECA). This stage page routes you to the answer. It does not replace it.
How much interest you pay over the life of the mortgage, and how free you are to move. Payment frequency and prepayments change the first. The charge registered on your title changes the second.
Nothing here has a deadline attached, which is exactly why it gets ignored until renewal arrives and the options have narrowed.
| Step | Who does it | What it produces |
|---|---|---|
| Check your prepayment privileges and whether you use them | You | Knowing what you are allowed to pay down each year |
| Decide on payment frequency | You, with the lender | Accelerated payments shorten the amortisation |
| Find out what charge is registered on your title | You, or your lawyer’s closing file | Whether switching lenders later costs you |
| Review when life changes | You and your broker | A plan before a problem, rather than after |
| Diarise your maturity date a year out | You | Time to shop stage 7 properly |
A collateral charge is the item most people discover too late. It is registered at closing and it affects what switching costs years later.
Making or not making prepayments, and noticing when something has changed enough to be worth a call.
Administering the mortgage, applying prepayments, and issuing a payout statement when you ask for one.
Worth calling before you do anything structural, and a year before maturity rather than a month.
| Document | Why it matters | Where it is |
|---|---|---|
| Your mortgage commitment and the signed mortgage | Sets out prepayment privileges and penalty calculation | Your lawyer’s closing package |
| The registered charge details | Standard or collateral changes your options at renewal | Title, and your closing package |
| Your maturity date | The single date that governs stage 7 | Your annual statement |
| A current payout statement, when you need one | The actual figure to discharge, which is often higher than the balance shown | Request it from the lender |
Paying it down faster. Accelerated biweekly payments and what a 30 year amortisation really costs.
What is registered on your title. Collateral charges and switching lenders.
Getting out, or moving. The five year payout right, why a payout statement is higher than your balance, and whether someone can assume your mortgage.
More than one property. A blanket mortgage over two properties.
Yes, because it adds the equivalent of an extra monthly payment each year, applied directly to principal. Run the calculator against your own balance rather than relying on a rule of thumb.
It includes interest to the payout date, any penalty, and discharge or administration fees. The balance on your statement is not the figure needed to discharge the mortgage.
It is a form of registration that can make switching lenders at renewal more expensive, because the charge has to be discharged and re-registered rather than simply transferred.
Usually yes, with a penalty calculated under your mortgage contract. Whether it is worth it depends on the penalty against the saving, which is a calculation rather than a judgement.
Some mortgages are assumable with lender approval, which means the buyer qualifies and takes it on. It is not automatic and not available on every product.
Around a year before maturity. Starting a month out leaves you negotiating against a deadline, which is the weakest position in the whole journey.
Call your broker before you miss a payment. Options exist while the mortgage is current and shrink sharply once it is in arrears.
Stage 7, renewal, which is the moment with the most money on the table and the least time spent on it.
Pekoe Mortgages is a licensed brokerage in Ontario (FSRA #13321) and Alberta (RECA). This page is general information, not financial advice, and does not create a broker and client relationship.