01When should I start dealing with my mortgage renewal?
Now, if you’re anywhere near it. If you’re six or eight months out and you have a feeling it’s going to be tight, call your lender while you still have leverage and options, not the week the term expires. The people I’ve seen get hurt the worst saw the renewal coming six months out and chose to look away from it.
Go deeperWhat’s coming at renewal
02How much could my payment go up?
On a mortgage written under 2%, the jump is hundreds and sometimes well over $1,000 a month, depending on your balance. For households that were already stretched, that’s enough to push them into selling early, downsizing or renting the place out. So get your own number early, from a broker, and plan from that.
03Should I just sign what my bank offers?
I wouldn’t. Shop your renewal 120 days early through a mortgage broker, because banks renew at retention rates and brokers renew at competitive rates. On a big balance, that difference can be the margin between comfortable and a forced sale.
04Can I stretch my amortization to lower the payment?
That’s the first move I’d look at. If you originally took 25 years and you’ve paid down four, you can ask about re-amortizing back to 30 to reset your payment to something that fits the new rate. You pay more interest over the life of the loan, but you survive.
05Fixed or variable at renewal?
My answer in May 2026 was to take the variable, but only if your cash flow can absorb a swing, because the bond market was pointing at lower rates. That’s a call for that moment, so check today’s numbers with your broker.
Free accountWhat’s your home worth today?Before you decide to renew, rent or sell, start with the number. A free account opens it.See my home’s value →06Can a suite help me at renewal?
It can. If your home has a legal secondary suite, laneway potential or unfinished basement space, ask a good broker whether rental income can count toward your refinance. Most lenders will not volunteer this option.
07If I can’t carry it, should I just rent it out?
Run the true numbers first: the realistic rent, not the 2021 rent, plus vacancy, repairs, property tax and strata fees, against your new payment. I went through this myself on my rental in Mount Pleasant. I was getting $3,000 a month, the tenant moved out after a job loss, and I was begging someone to take it for $2,400. If it doesn’t work and you do it anyway, you’re just kicking a more expensive version of the problem 12 months down the road.
08If renewal means I have to sell, how do I price it?
For the market that exists, not the one you bought in. The homes selling are the ones priced to create action, and a stale listing with two price drops tells every buyer in the city that you’re the motivated one. If you’re downsizing, zoom out: you might lose a little on the sale and save a whole lot more on the purchase.
Go deeperWhen your home doesn’t sellSeller Blueprint
09Will all these renewals crash prices?
I didn’t think so when I looked at it in December 2025. The rates don’t support a free fall: renewal pressure creates pockets of distress, not a systemic collapse. I’d rather you read the current month than trust an old forecast, and that’s what the Kyle Mark Report (free account) is for.
10I’m a buyer. Does the renewal wave help me?
It can. Court-ordered sales, assignments from people who cannot close and investors who want out all bring motivated sellers to the table, and I’ve been stepping into deals where the seller just wants out. The worst thing you can do is wait for stability, because that’s what everyone else is waiting for, and the moment it arrives, competition explodes.
Go deeperMotivated Sellers ListBuyer Blueprint
7:10Hear me say it at 7:10Over 1 Million Canadians Can't Afford Their 2026 Mortgage RenewalJuly 2026 · 8:38 long
