Should you just sign the renewal your bank mails you? No — not before you've seen what the rest of the market wants to offer you. At renewal you can move your mortgage to any lender in Canada with no penalty. Banks count on you being too busy — or too bothered — to shop what may be the most expensive loan of your life. Call me. It takes 5 to 15 minutes to review your situation, and more often than not you'll walk away with a better product than the letter in your hand.
Here's the thing most people miss: I can lock a renewal rate up to six months before your term ends — sometimes a full year. The earlier we talk, the more options you have and the less your bank's deadline matters.
What's actually at stake
Small differences — and one smart tweak — compound on big numbers:
How that's calculated: a $400,000 balance renewing into a 5-year fixed term with 20 years of amortization remaining (semi-annual compounding, as Canadian mortgages are). $3,500+ is the interest saved over the term by a rate 0.20% lower — it holds across 15-, 20-, or 25-year remaining amortizations at today's typical rate levels. Shawn's tweak: accelerated weekly means your monthly payment divided by four, paid weekly — one extra month of principal a year without feeling it. On this example it pays the mortgage off roughly 2½ years sooner and saves $20,000+ in interest over its life. Illustrations only — your numbers are your own, and we'll run them together.
And rate is only half the conversation. Prepayment privileges, portability, and penalty structure decide what your mortgage costs if life changes mid-term — a move, a windfall, a divorce, a sale. Your bank's letter compares none of that. I compare all of it, across 20+ lenders.
How the renewal play works
- Four to six months out: we talk for 15 minutes. I put your renewal in front of 20+ competing lenders — banks, credit unions, monolines — and lock in the strongest offer. Free, no obligation.
- Rates drop before closing? You get the lower one. Rates rise? Your lock protects you. You can't lose the hold.
- Another lender steps up with something sharper before closing? We'll look at it together and decide if the jump is worth it. Why not — comparing costs you nothing.
- And if we find you a better product? Congratulations — you're switching. My service costs you nothing; the lender pays me a set commission. Transfer costs vary by lender and product, and we'll walk through exactly what applies to your file before anything moves. No surprises.
- And if the numbers say staying put is truly your best move, I'll tell you that too. Straight answers are the whole point.
Renewal in the next 12 months?
The smartest call you make this year might be the one where we simply map it out early.
Why that renewal letter isn't built to be your best offer
Here's the thing. Banks handle hundreds of thousands of mortgages a year, and they've been mailing renewal letters for generations. They know exactly how many people sign and return them without ever making an effort to shop — and at that scale, sending out a less-than-competitive offer wins for them most of the time. It's a business. Nobody's the villain, and we all understand how it works.
But that's the bank playing the averages. You don't have to be the average. You're going to show up for your renewal — and I'll bring the whole market with me when you do.
"Shawn has helped us with our last 4 mortgages and worked very hard to get us the most competitive rates possible. I would highly recommend Shawn to my family and friends."
— Michelle & Richard Straat
Renewal questions I get every week
Does switching lenders at renewal cost me a penalty?
No. At maturity you can move anywhere penalty-free. That's exactly what makes renewal the cheapest moment to restructure — consolidate debt, change your amortization, or just get a better deal.
Will shopping my renewal hurt my credit?
No. I pull your credit once, and that one report goes out to every lender I work with. What dings a score is applying separately all over town, bank by bank. One pull, the whole market.
My renewal is only weeks away. Too late?
Tight, but usually workable — switches can close on surprisingly short timelines. And if the clock truly runs out, there's an escape hatch: renew into an open mortgage with your current lender — no lock-in, no long commitment — and once your file is ready, we move you into the right product with no penalty. Either way, call me today rather than tomorrow.
Can I consolidate debt at renewal?
Yes — and it's the cheapest moment to do it, because there's no penalty to restructure. If credit cards or a line of credit are weighing on you, renewal is the window. Here's how debt consolidation works →
Want to see your own numbers first? Try the Renewal Savings Calculator — free, no email required. Then call me when the numbers raise a question.
15 minutes now. Thousands later.
Tell me your renewal date
📊 Run the Numbers Yourself
Use my free mortgage calculators to estimate payments, closing costs, affordability, and more — before you talk to any lender.
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