We will never sell or share your data with any third party. Only employees of JWM will contact you to see if we can help.
- Pre-qualifying ensures we respect your time. If there is a high probability (no guarantees) to solve your situation we’ll tell you right away. If we can’t help at least we’ve saved you some time.
- Our system compares your information vs the requirements of our top Lenders.
- Pre-qualified means your file will be prioritized ahead of any other client who has not been pre-qualified.
- Funds can be received faster when one is pre-qualified.
- For a standard uninsured refinance, the total loans secured against the property are generally limited to 80% of the home’s appraised value. Individual lenders may use lower limits depending on the borrower, property and product. FCAC explains borrowing against home equity. You can also review our loan-to-value guide.
- After submission, one of our agents will contact you before 5pm today.
- Our agents will speak with you to learn more about your situation.
- We will request a few documents.
- When documents are received, we can provide a conditional mortgage approval in 24 hours.
- After issuing the conditional approval, the lender may ask other questions and requst more documents.
- Upon receipt of all documents you can receive funding in 48 hours.
Table of Contents
- What is a Refinance vs a Renewal?
- Why refinance?
- What are the best refinancing rates?
- When should you refinance?
- Can you afford a refinance?
- Risks to refinancing?
- How can a mortgage agent help?
What Is a Refinance vs. a Renewal?
- Renewals occur when your current term ends.
- …..you start a new 1 – 5 year term without increasing your balance.
- A Refinance occurs when you increase the mortgage balance.
- A renewal with your existing lender often does not require a full new mortgage application, but policies vary. A refinance is new underwriting. At federally regulated lenders, most newly underwritten uninsured refinances must qualify at the greater of the contract rate plus 2% or 5.25%. A qualifying straight switch at renewal can be exempt when the loan amount and amortization are not increased. OSFI minimum qualifying rate.
- A refinance requires re-qualification.
Why Refinance?
- Debt consolidation (improved cashflow)
- Moving high interest debt to low interest mortgage (improved cashflow)
- Renovation costs
- Downpayment on a new property
- Large purchases (car, trip)
- Investment purchases
- Paying CRA taxes
Other articles: How to Stop a Power of Sale
Other articles: Debt Consolidation
Other articles: Private Lenders
What Affects Refinancing Rates?
- The rate you can get depends on several factors:
- Debt-service ratios (GDS and TDS)
- Credit score
- Property Location
- Loan to value
- Owner Occupied vs Rental property
- Type of income (salaried, self-employed…etc)
- The better these metrics are, the better your mortgage rate.
- Your mortgage agent can estimate your rate based on these factors.
- For definitions of terms, click here.
When Should You Refinance?
- If you do not need to refinance immediately, compare the savings from refinancing early with any prepayment penalty and transaction costs. Waiting until the end of the term can reduce or eliminate a break penalty, but the best timing depends on the numbers. FCAC explains the costs of breaking a mortgage.
- Start the refinance process at least 3 months before the end of current term.
- Why refinance BEFORE your term ends?
- lock in lower rates before they rise.
- cashflow is declining and you might default on debt payments.
- high interest debt is larger than your lower interest mortgage.
- you lost your job and need new debt restructure to increase cashflow.
- an investment opportunity starts before your mortgage term ends.
- There is usually an administration fee for ending your current term early.
- Our mortgage agents can estimate costs
Can You Afford a Refinance?
- Lenders commonly assess Gross Debt Service (GDS) and Total Debt Service (TDS) ratios when qualifying a refinance. The acceptable limits vary by lender and product. See our mortgage stress-test and GDS/TDS guide.
- Banks review total debt (not just mortgage) including credit cards, all loans, alimony…etc).
- Estimate what mortgage payment your monthly budget can handle
- Using a refinance to consolidate higher-payment unsecured debt may reduce monthly debt obligations and improve TDS and cash flow, although the debt still exists and stretching repayment over a longer period can increase total interest costs. See our debt-consolidation refinance guide.
Other articles: How to Stop a Power of Sale
Other articles: Debt Consolidation
Other articles: Private Lenders
Risks of Refinancing
- Increasing the mortgage amount can prohibit access to other loans later on.
- If your house value decreases, this can prohibit you from refinancing later on.
- Multiple lenders checking your credit can lower your credit score.
- A mortgage agent can often use one credit report to assess options with multiple lenders, although an individual lender may still conduct its own credit check.
How a Mortgage Agent Can Help
- Compare available rates, terms and lender requirements for your financial profile
- Lower payments via Brokerage volume discounts
- Compare and negotiate available lender terms with your cash flow and longer-term costs in mind
- Offer complementary solutions (line of credit, payment forgiveness, portability)
- Present multiple Lender offers from which you can choose
- Estimate your max loan, rate and payments
- Explain to banks non-traditional income
- Find lenders for rural locations
- Find lenders who work with lower income Borrowers or bruised credit applications
- Find private lenders to stop a Power of Sale
| Credit Cards | CRA Tax | Lines of Credit |
| Student Loans | Car Loans | Liens |
Definitions
- Debt-Service Ratios (GDS/TDS)
- calculates your total monthly debt (loans, credit cards, alimony, etc)
- by your total monthly income
- Many prime-lender applications use TDS around 44% as a common guideline, but actual limits depend on the lender, mortgage-insurance rules, income type, credit and the overall application.
- Some alternative lenders may consider higher debt-service ratios when other parts of the application are strong; pricing and documentation requirements can differ from prime lending.
- Private lenders generally focus more heavily on property equity, loan-to-value and the exit strategy than on conventional GDS/TDS limits. Approval is still lender-specific.
- Loan to Value
- Your total mortgage amount divided by the property value
- A lower loan-to-value can improve lender choice and pricing, but there is no universal LTV band that guarantees the lowest rate.
- Pricing and approval near the maximum loan-to-value vary by lender, borrower profile, property and mortgage type.
- Standard uninsured refinancing is generally capped at 80% LTV. Some specialized insured programs have different limits; for example, eligible CMHC refinancing to add secondary suites can permit up to 90% LTV when all program requirements are met. CMHC refinance for secondary suites.
- Owner Occupied vs Rental Property
- Owner Occupied refers to the mortgage Borrower living in the mortgaged property
- Rental refers to a property in which only tenants live in property
Other articles: How to Stop a Power of Sale
Other articles: Debt Consolidation
Other articles: Private Lenders
Mortgage Refinancing Next Steps
- Here is how Mortgage Refinancing works:
First the Mortgage Agent will review the consolidation of your debts and calculate your potential cashflow increase. - We then calculate your home equity to understand how much can be accessed.
- We analyze your finances to determine how much equity you can use relative to your income.
- We work with our lenders to find the best solution to improve your financial health.
What Does It Cost to Use a Mortgage Agent?
- Nothing if you use a AAA bank.
- JWM agents are paid through commission by the Lender with whom you authorize us to work.
- Brokerage fees may apply depending on the lender, product and file. Any borrower-paid brokerage fees must be disclosed in writing.
- Many conventional lenders compensate the mortgage brokerage directly, so a borrower may not pay a separate brokerage fee. This varies by transaction, and any applicable fees or compensation must be disclosed. FSRA explains mortgage-professional fees and disclosures.
Other articles: How to Stop a Power of Sale
Other articles: Debt Consolidation
Other articles: Private Lenders
About the author: Jason Wodlinger is an Ontario Mortgage Agent Level 2. This article explains mortgage refinancing concepts and current qualification considerations in Ontario; approval, rates, fees and available equity depend on the lender, property and borrower profile.
Our Solutions
Mortgage Rates
(assumes credit score >600)
| Term | Mortgage Rate |
| 2 year term | 4.29% |
| 3 year term | 4.29% |
| 4 year term | 4.34% |
| 5 year term | 4.39% |
| Variable Rates | 3.9 % = 3 year term 3.5 % 5 = year terms |
| 1 year term | Our Private Lenders offer short terms |
| credit score <600 | Our Lenders can help with bruised credit |
updated / Sep 24, 2026
Private Lenders
| AltaWest Capital | AW Capital |
| CMI Group | Firm Capital |
| Fisgard Mortgage | PHL Capital |
| Premhome | RiverRock |
| Sequence Capital | Tribecca Finance |
| VWR Capital | Gentai Capital |
And many many more……
Other articles: How to Stop a Power of Sale
Other articles: Debt Consolidation
Other articles: Private Lenders
Alternative Lenders
| CWB Optimum | Equitable |
| Hometrust | First National |
| B2B Bank | MCAN Financial |
| MCAP Financial | Haventree |
| RFA Mortgages | Effort Trust |
| Strive Capital | First Ontario |
And many many more……
