Mortgage Architects
SS
Shawn Selanders
Mortgage Broker • Since 1999 • 30+ Lenders

Renewal Countdown: When Does Your Window Open?

Enter your renewal date. See exactly when to act, what the deadlines are, and what your balance makes the shopping worth.

Your Renewal
The exact day is on your mortgage statement or renewal letter - the month is close enough to map the play.
On your statement. Used only to size what a difference is worth on YOUR balance.
20 yrs
Your Renewal Timeline
    What Shopping Is Worth On Your Balance
    Lock the window. Lose nothing.
    A rate hold protects you if rates rise and costs you nothing if they fall - you get the lower one. Text me your renewal date and I will map the play with 30+ lenders.
    Text Shawn My Renewal Date
    403-703-6847
    Shawn Selanders - RECA-Licensed Mortgage Broker - Mortgage Architects
    Estimates for planning only, using Canadian semi-annual compounding. Rate-hold windows vary by lender - most hold four months (120 days), some up to six. Savings figures compare interest over a five-year term at your entered rate versus a lower rate on your entered balance; they are illustrations, not quotes or commitments. O.A.C. E.&O.E.

    Why the Countdown Matters

    Banks count on one thing at renewal: that you are too busy to shop what may be the most expensive loan of your life. The renewal letter lands a few weeks before your term ends, the deadline feels close, and signing it takes thirty seconds. That is the whole strategy - and this calculator dismantles it by giving you the two dates that flip the leverage.

    The six-month mark is when you get organized. Fifteen minutes on the phone, your documents lined up, your file ready to move. Nothing is locked yet - you are simply early, which is the strongest position in this game.

    The four-month mark - 120 days - is when most lenders will hold a rate for you; some stretch to six months. From that day forward you can lock the strongest offer on the board and you cannot lose the hold: if rates drop before closing you get the lower one, and if they rise your lock protects you.

    At renewal you can move your mortgage to any lender in Canada with no penalty - and a straight switch does not need a lawyer, because the new lender handles the transfer paperwork. My service costs you nothing; the lender pays me when your mortgage funds.

    Renewal Countdown Questions

    When should I start working on my renewal?

    Six months before your renewal date. That is when we talk, line up documents, and get your file ready - so the moment your rate-hold window opens at the four-month (120-day) mark with most lenders, the strongest offer gets locked immediately.

    Does a rate hold cost anything or lock me in?

    No and no. A rate hold is free and protects you in both directions: if rates rise before your renewal, your held rate stands; if rates drop, you take the lower one. There is no scenario where holding a rate makes you worse off.

    My renewal is only weeks away. Is it too late?

    Tight, but usually workable - switches can close on surprisingly short timelines. If the clock truly runs out, there is an escape hatch: renew into an open mortgage with your current lender, no lock-in, and once your file is ready we move you into the right product with no penalty. Call today rather than tomorrow.

    Will shopping my renewal hurt my credit score?

    No. I pull your credit once, and that one report goes to every lender I work with. What hurts a score is applying separately at bank after bank. One pull, the whole market.