Blog
Plain explanations of how mortgage breaking actually works, so the numbers feel less intimidating before you talk to anyone.
Learn: free, plain-English lessons on mortgages, debt and money
Short lessons on mortgages, debt and everyday money, with worked examples, something to try and a quick quiz in each. What's in them, and who they're for.
Read it
Mortgage rates in October 2026: furnace on, numbers out
Where our mortgage rate estimates stood on 1 October, what moved over September, and what it works out to in monthly dollars.
Read it
US interest rates are rising. What does that mean for a Canadian mortgage?
The Federal Reserve raised its rate and US bond yields are at levels last seen in 2007. What crosses the border into Canadian mortgages, what doesn't, and who actually feels it.
Read it
Leaving an alternative or private mortgage: penalties, fees and timing
Alternative and private lenders charge penalties differently from the banks, and on a short term the months left often matter more than the rate. How to read the numbers before leaving early.
Read it
What is a blend and extend mortgage? How the blended rate works
A blend and extend averages your old rate with today's in place of a penalty. How the blended rate is worked out, where a penalty can hide inside it, and blend, break and wait compared on one mortgage.
Read it
HELOC vs refinance in Canada: what each costs over five years
One household wants $100,000 from a $900,000 home. The 65% and 80% limits, the stress test, collateral charges, and what a refinance and a HELOC each cost over five years.
Read it
How is a mortgage penalty calculated in Canada?
Three months' interest, the interest rate differential, and why two lenders can quote penalties thousands of dollars apart on the same mortgage.
Read it
Can we afford to move up? Selling one Ontario home to buy the next
One Hamilton family sells a semi and looks at detached houses: the waterfall from sale price to down payment, porting against breaking, the stress test, and the $1.5 million line.
Read it
How much will my mortgage payment go up at renewal?
Four households open the same renewal letter: one stretched with no savings, one with a lump sum, one nearly mortgage-free, and one whose payment is going down.
Read it
Mortgage prepayment privileges in Canada: what they allow and what extra payments save
Most mortgages let you prepay 10% to 20% a year without a penalty. What each major lender allows, and one mortgage run through seven ways of paying extra, from a single lump sum to accelerated biweekly.
Read it
How to consolidate debt in Canada: balance transfers, lines of credit and your mortgage
Debt consolidation is a ladder, from a 0% balance transfer to rolling everything into the mortgage. Each rung worked through with real numbers, and the catch that comes with it.
Read it
What is a trigger rate on a variable mortgage?
On a fixed-payment variable mortgage, the trigger rate is where the payment stops covering the interest. What it means, how it differs from the trigger point, and what a 2022 variable looks like at renewal.
Read it
A renewal, a lump sum, and the January question
One renewal from a pandemic-era 1.80% to 3.90%, a 20% lump sum that absorbed the whole payment shock, weekly payments, and why waiting until 31 December cost almost nothing.
Read it
Weekly, biweekly or monthly: what payment frequency actually changes
Paying more often saves a few hundred dollars over 25 years. Paying more saves tens of thousands. The word that separates them is "accelerated".
Read it
Ontario land transfer tax in 2026: how it's calculated, and what Toronto adds
How the provincial brackets work, why Toronto buyers pay twice, what changed above $3 million on 1 April 2026, and what first-time buyers get back, with the tax worked out at several prices.
Read it
Mortgage rates in September 2026: back to routine, and bond yields a touch higher
August was quiet for the Bank of Canada and a little less quiet for bond yields. Where rates stood on 1 September, and what that means in dollars.
Read it
How to use the MortgageSkip calculators
What each field means, which numbers actually move the answer, and the two places the result is easy to misread.
Read it
Top Benefits of Using Mortgage Brokers for Breaks
Breaking a mortgage has a reputation problem.
Read it
How to Approach Breaking Your Mortgage Contract
Breaking a mortgage contract often sounds more dramatic than it actually is.
Read it
Understanding Mortgage Breaking Options for Homeowners
For many homeowners, the idea of breaking a mortgage never really comes up until something changes.
Read it