Renewal

Your term is ending — you're not obligated to sign the letter.

Six months before maturity, your lender will send you a letter proposing a new rate. It's fast, it's convenient, and it's rarely the best financial decision. You have 90-120 days to shop and transfer WITHOUT penalty.

What likely concerns you

• Understanding the difference between renewal (with your current lender) and transfer (with another).
• Locking a new rate 90-120 days before maturity to shop.
• Evaluating if refinancing (changing the amount) using renewal is worthwhile.
• Calculating the IRD penalty if you want to exit BEFORE end of term.
• Optimizing next term: 5-year, 3-year, fixed vs variable based on your 2026 situation.
• Using renewal to consolidate a HELOC or expensive debts.

What we avoid for you

• Letting you sign the first letter without comparing.
• Presenting a product with massive IRD penalty (the famous "lender's gain equivalent" penalty).
• Committing you to a 5-year term if your situation will change in 2-3 years (sale, separation, move).
• Forgetting to reassess your amortization (often reduced to adjust to new rules).

How it works for you

1. 1

   Pre-qualification 2 min

   Ideally 6 months before your maturity (but 60 days is still OK).

2. 2

   Coordinator calls you

   15 min to understand your current loan: lender, term, balance, rate, exact maturity date.

3. 3

   Referred AMF broker

   Specialized in renewals/transfers. Shops your file without commitment.

4. 4

   Informed decision

   You compare: stay with your lender (with best terms negotiated by the broker) vs transfer elsewhere. You choose.

Frequent questions — renewal

• When to start shopping before maturity?

  6 months before ideally. Lenders lock a rate up to 120 days before maturity. Beyond 120 days, too early (rate not guaranteed). Less than 60 days, doable but tight. At 30 days or less, you're in a weak position — the bank knows it.

• Can I transfer WITHOUT penalty?

  YES at exact maturity (D-day or before). That's the key window. Before maturity: IRD penalty often high (can reach $10,000-$20,000 on an advantageous fixed rate). The AMF broker will calculate precisely if transferring earlier is worth it.

• Transfer costs?

  The new lender often pays fees (appraisal + legal fees) up to $1,000-$1,500. No full notary (already done at initial purchase). You usually save net even counting fees.

• Will my current lender "match" the competing offer?

  Often yes — they hate losing a customer. The AMF broker will use competing offers as leverage to negotiate with your lender. You win either way.

• Use renewal to consolidate my debts?

  If you have over 20% equity in your home, yes — refinancing + integrating HELOC / cards / car loans at a mortgage rate (4-6%) instead of 9-19% can avoid thousands of dollars in unnecessary interest. The broker models precisely how much you lose by keeping debts outside the mortgage.

• Difference between renewal and refinance?

  Renewal = you re-sign for a new term without changing the amount or collateral. No notary required. Refinance = you modify the amount (often higher to tap equity) or loan structure. Notary required (~$1,000-$1,500). Renewal no longer requires re-passing the stress test since 2024 if you stay with the same lender; refinance, yes.

• Displayed vs negotiated: what real spread in the QC market in 2026?

  The rate displayed in a renewal letter is generally 0.20 to 0.60% higher than the rate an AMF mortgage broker negotiates for an equivalent file (per multiple industry publications including MPC/HPC reports). That's what the bank's loyalty premium costs you each year. Calculation details on /methodologie.