Porting Your Mortgage

Joe Tomkins • December 22, 2022

Porting your mortgage is when you transfer the remainder of your current mortgage term, outstanding principal balance, and interest rate to a new property if you’re selling your existing home and buying a new one.


Now, despite what some big banks would lead you to believe, porting your mortgage is not an easy process. It’s not a magic process that guarantees you will qualify to purchase a new property using the mortgage you had on a previous property.


In addition to re-qualifying for the mortgage you already have, the lender will also assess the property you’re looking to purchase. Many moving parts come into play. You’re more likely to have significant setbacks throughout the process than you are to execute a flawless port. Here are some of the reasons:


You may not qualify for the mortgage


Let’s say you’re moving to a new city to take a new job. If you’re relying on porting your mortgage to buy a new property, you’ll have to substantiate your new income. If you’re on probation or changed professions, there’s a chance the lender will decline your application. Porting a mortgage is a lot like qualifying for a new mortgage, just with more conditions.


The property you are buying has to be approved


So let’s say that your income isn’t an issue and that you qualify for the mortgage. The subject property you want to purchase has to be approved as well. Just because the lender accepted your last property as collateral for the mortgage doesn’t mean the lender will accept the new property. The lender will require an appraisal and scrutinize the condition of the property you’re looking to buy.


Property values are rarely the same


Chances are, if you’re selling a property and buying a new one, there’ll be some price difference. When looking to port a mortgage, if the new property’s value is higher than your previous property, requiring a higher mortgage amount, you’ll most likely have to take a blended rate on the new money, which could increase your payment. If the property value is considerably less, you might incur a penalty to reduce the total mortgage amount.


You still need a downpayment


Porting a mortgage isn’t just a simple case of swapping one property for another while keeping the same mortgage. You’re still required to come up with a downpayment on the new property.


You’ll most likely have to pay a penalty


Most lenders will charge the total discharge penalty when you sell your property and take it from the sale proceeds. The penalty is then refunded when you execute the port and purchase the new property. So if you are relying on the proceeds of sale to come up with your downpayment, you might have to make other arrangements.


Timelines rarely work out


When assessing the housing market, It’s usually a buyer’s market or a seller’s market, not both at the same time. So although you may be able to sell your property overnight, you might not be able to find a suitable property to buy. Alternatively, you may be able to find many suitable properties to purchase while your house sits on the market with no showings.


And, chances are, when you end up selling your property and find a new property to buy, the closing dates rarely match up perfectly.


Different lenders have different port periods


Understanding that different lenders have different port periods is where the fine print in the mortgage documents comes into play. Did you know that depending on the lender, the time you have to port your mortgage can range from one day to six months? So if it’s one day, your lawyer will have to close both the sale of your property and the purchase of your new property on the same day, or the port won’t work.


Or, with a more extended port period, you run the risk of selling your house with the intention of porting the mortgage, only to not be able to find a suitable property to buy.


So while the idea of porting your mortgage can seem like a good idea, and it might even make sense if you have a low rate that you want to carry over to a property of similar value, it’s always a good idea to get professional mortgage advice and look at all your options.


While porting your mortgage is a nice feature to have because it provides you with options, please understand that it is not a guarantee that you’ll be able to swap out properties and keep making the same payments. There’s a lot to know.


If you’re looking to sell your existing property and buy a new one, please connect anytime. It would be a pleasure to walk you through the process and help you consider all your options, including a port if that makes the most sense!
JOE TOMKINS
MORTGAGE BROKER

CONTACT ME

Your Guide To The A First Home Savings Account (FHSA)

By Joe Tomkins • November 13, 2025
Dreaming of owning your first home? A First Home Savings Account (FHSA) could be your key to turning that dream into a reality. Let's dive into what an FHSA is, how it works, and why it's a smart investment for first-time homebuyers. What is an FHSA? An FHSA is a registered plan designed to help you save for your first home taxfree. If you're at least 18 years old, have a Social Insurance Number (SIN), and have not owned a home where you lived for the past four calendar years, you may be eligible to open an FHSA. Reasons to Invest in an FHSA: Save up to $40,000 for your first home. Contribute tax-free for up to 15 years. Carry over unused contribution room to the next year, up to a maximum of $8,000. Potentially reduce your tax bill and carry forward undeducted contributions indefinitely. Pay no taxes on investment earnings. Complements the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP). How Does an FHSA Work? Open Your FHSA: Start investing tax-free by opening your FHSA. Contribute Often: Make tax-deductible contributions of up to $8,000 annually to help your money grow faster. Withdraw for Your Home: Make a tax-free withdrawal at any time to purchase your first home. Benefits of an FHSA: Tax-Deductible Contributions: Contribute up to $8,000 annually, reducing your taxable income. Tax-Free Earnings: Enjoy tax-free growth on your investments within the FHSA. No Taxes on Withdrawals: Pay $0 in taxes on withdrawals used to buy a qualifying home. Numbers to Know: $8,000: Annual tax-deductible FHSA contribution limit. $40,000: Lifetime FHSA contribution limit. $0: Taxes on FHSA earnings when used for a qualifying home purchase. In Conclusion A First Home Savings Account (FHSA) is a powerful tool for first-time homebuyers, offering tax benefits and a structured approach to saving for homeownership. By taking advantage of an FHSA, you can accelerate your journey towards owning your first home and make your dream a reality sooner than you think.

How To Avoid An Accidental Home Purchase

By Joe Tomkins • October 30, 2025
Buying a property might actually be easier than you think. So, if you have NO desire AT ALL to qualify for a mortgage, here are some great steps you can take to ensure you don’t accidentally buy a property. Fair warning, this article might get a little cheeky. Quit your job. First things first, ditch that job. One of the best ways to make sure you won’t qualify for a mortgage is to be unemployed. Yep, most mortgage lenders aren’t in the practice of lending money to unemployed people! If you already have a preapproval in place and don’t want to go through with financing, no problems. Unexpectedly quit your job mid-application. Because, even if you’re making a lateral move or taking a better job, any change in employment status can negatively impact your approval. Spend All Your Savings. To get a mortgage, you’ll have to bring some money to the table. In Canada, the minimum downpayment required is 5% of the purchase price. Now, if the goal is not to get a mortgage, spending all your money and having absolutely nothing in your account is a surefire way to ensure you won’t qualify for a mortgage. So, if you’ve been looking for a reason to go out and buy a new vehicle, consider this your permission. Collect as Much Debt as Possible. After quitting your job and spending all your savings, you should definitely go out and incur as much debt as possible! The higher the payments, the better. You see, one of the main qualifiers on a mortgage is called your debt-service ratio. This takes into count the amount of money you make compared to the amount of money you owe. So the more debt you have, the less money you’ll have leftover to finance a home. Stop Making Your Debt Payments So let’s say you can’t shake your job, you still have a good amount of money in the bank, and you’ve run out of ways to spend money you don’t have. Don’t panic; you can still absolutely wreck your chances of qualifying for a mortgage! Just don’t pay any of your bills on time or stop making your payments altogether. Why would any lender want to lend you money when you have a track record of not paying back any of the money you’ve already borrowed? Provide Ugly Supporting Documentation. Now, if all else fails, the last chance you have to scuttle your chances of getting a mortgage is to provide the lender with really ugly documents. To support your mortgage application, lenders must complete their due diligence. Here are three ways to make sure the lender won’t be able to verify anything. Firstly, and probably the most straightforward, make sure your name doesn’t appear anywhere on any of your statements. This way, the lender can’t be sure the documents are actually yours or not. Secondly, when providing bank statements to prove downpayment funds, make sure there are multiple cash deposits over $1000 without explaining where the money came from. This will look like money laundering and will throw up all kinds of red flags. And lastly, consider blacking out all your “personal information.” Just use a black Sharpie and make your paperwork look like classified FBI documents. Follow-Through So there you have it, to avoid an accidental home purchase, you should quit your job, spend all your money, borrow as much money as possible, stop making your payments, and make sure the lender can’t prove anything! This will ensure no one will lend you money to buy a property! Now, on the off chance that you’d actually like to qualify for a mortgage, you’ve come to the right place. The suggestion would be to actually keep your job, save for a downpayment, limit the amount of debt you carry, make your payments on time, and provide clear documentation to support your mortgage application! If you'd like to make sure you're on the right track, connect anytime. It would be a pleasure to walk through the mortgage process with you.

What is a “No-Frills” Mortgage?

By Joe Tomkins • October 16, 2025
A no-frills service or product is where non-essential features have been removed from the product or service to keep the price as low as possible. And while keeping costs low at the expense of non-essential features might be okay when choosing something like which grocery store to shop at, which economy car to purchase, or which budget hotel to spend the night, it’s not a good idea when considering which lender to secure mortgage financing. Here’s why. When securing mortgage financing, your goal should be to pay the least amount of money over the term. Your plan should include having provisions for unexpected life changes. Unlike the inconvenience of shopping at a store that doesn’t provide free bags, or driving a car without power windows, or staying at a hotel without any amenities, the so-called “frills” that are stripped away to provide you with the lowest rate mortgage are the very things that could significantly impact your overall cost of borrowing. Depending on the lender, a “no-frills” mortgage rate might be up to 0.20% lower than a fully-featured mortgage. And while this could potentially save you a few hundreds of dollars over a 5-year term, please understand that it could also potentially cost you thousands (if not tens of thousands) of dollars should you need to break your mortgage early. So if you’re considering a “no-frills” mortgage, here are a few of the drawbacks to think through: You'll pay a significantly higher penalty if you need to break your mortgage. You'll have limited pre-payment privileges. Potential limitations if you want to port your mortgage to a different property. You might be limited in your ability to refinance your mortgage (without incurring a considerable penalty). Simply put, a “no-frills” mortgage is an entirely restrictive mortgage that leaves you without any flexibility. There are many reasons you might need to keep your options open. You might need to break your term because of a job loss or marital breakdown, or maybe you decide to take a new job across the country, or you need to buy a property to accommodate your growing family. Life is unpredictable; flexibility matters. So why do banks offer a no-frills mortgage anyway? Well, when you deal with a single bank or financial institution, it’s the banker’s job to make as much money from you as possible, even if that means locking you into a very restrictive mortgage product by offering a rock bottom rate. Banks know that 2 out of 3 people break their mortgage within three years (33 months). However, when you seek the expert advice of an independent mortgage professional, you can expect to see mortgage options from several institutions showcasing mortgage products best suited for your needs. We have your best interest in mind and will help you through the entire process. A mortgage is so much more than just the lowest rate. If you have any questions about this, or if you’d like to discuss anything else mortgage-related, please get in touch. Working with you would be a pleasure!