Mortgage & Finance
Mortgage rates, financing, and home loan guides for Ontario buyers
Do Interest-Only Mortgages Actually Exist in Canada? (And Why They’re a Cash-Flow Tool, Not a Last Resort)
Do interest-only mortgages exist in Canada? Yes — but big-bank retail lenders almost never write a pure interest-only term mortgage. Most interest-only borrowing runs through a HELOC (a revolving line), while true interest-only term loans come mainly from private, B-lender or commercial channels. This piece separates HELOC interest-only from a true IO mortgage, shows who it actually suits (cash-flow investors, not people who can't make payments), and prices four costs: principal never falls, rate and renewal risk, the stress test, and the 65%/80% LTV ceilings. Rules from OSFI B-20, balances from Bank of Canada, verified 2026-07-29.
Fixed Payment or Adjustable Payment? The Variable-Mortgage Fork Nobody Explains (VRM vs ARM)
A “variable” mortgage can work two very different ways. With a fixed-payment VRM the payment stays put and rising rates quietly stretch your amortization (and can trigger negative amortization); with an adjustable-payment ARM the payment moves with prime but your payoff stays on schedule. This explains the two structures, who each suits, what happens at renewal, and how to read your contract to know which you signed. Figures from Bank of Canada.
How Long to Lock Your Mortgage: Choosing a 1, 3, 5, or 10-Year Term
Should you lock your mortgage for 1, 3, 5, or 10 years? This is not a ranking — it is a decision framework built on three variables: your read on rates, how the prepayment penalty grows with term length, and how likely you actually are to sell or refinance before the term ends. Covers the greater-of three-months-interest-or-IRD penalty on fixed mortgages, and the Interest Act rule that caps the penalty after five years on a 10-year term. Sources: OSC, the federal Interest Act. Not mortgage advice.
Term vs. Amortization: One Sets Your Payment, the Other Sets How Long Your Rate Is Locked
What is the real difference between a mortgage term and the amortization period? Amortization is the total time to pay the whole loan off (most commonly 25 years in Canada) and it sets how big your payment is. The term is how long your current contract and rate are locked (usually 1 to 5 years), after which you must renew. Because the amortization is split into several shorter terms, your rate gets repriced every few years — not once for the life of the loan. This guide separates the two, with sources from the OSC, FCAC and the Department of Finance. Not mortgage advice.
Open vs. Closed Mortgage: Is the Freedom to Pay Off Early Worth the Higher Rate?
An open mortgage usually carries a higher interest rate but lets you pay it off in full anytime, penalty-free. A closed mortgage costs less but charges a prepayment penalty (typically the greater of three months' interest or the interest rate differential) if you break it early. The real question is not which is better but whether that freedom is worth the premium for your situation. This guide breaks down the trade-off and the three kinds of borrower — short-term holders, buy-before-sell owners, and those awaiting a large sum — who most often come out ahead. Sourced.
Collateral vs. Standard Charge: Why Nobody Warns You Until You Try to Leave
In Canada a mortgage is registered on title one of two ways. A standard charge is registered for your loan amount and can usually be transferred to a new lender at renewal. A collateral charge is registered for more than you borrow and secures several loans with the same lender — to switch, you must discharge it, have the new lender re-register, and repay or transfer every linked credit. Per the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, moving off a collateral charge may cost fees. Here is how the two differ, why big banks default to collateral, and what to ask before you sign.
High-Ratio Mortgage Default Insurance in Ontario: The Under-20% Down Payment Guide
Put less than 20% down in Canada and your mortgage is high-ratio, requiring CMHC, Sagen or Canada Guaranty insurance. Premiums run 0.60%-4.00% of the loan, added to the mortgage, but Ontario 8% PST is paid in cash.
New Home GST/HST Rebate: Why the Person Living There Must Be the Owner or a Tenant
Ontario new-home GST/HST relief runs on two tracks: the New Housing Rebate for owner-occupiers and the NRRP Rebate for landlords. Both demand real occupancy, or CRA claws it back with interest.
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