Mortgage Renewal Gut Check Canada
A gut check means slowing down and reviewing the written offer before responding. Check the rate, term, payment assumptions, fees, restrictions, and deadline without assuming the offer is good, bad, negotiable, or cheaper elsewhere.
Already received a renewal offer from your lender?
Check the rate against current Canadian mortgage benchmarks before you sign. FairRate is paid by you, not by lenders, and does not sell your information to brokers.
Free · no credit check · currently supports Canadian 3-year and 5-year fixed renewal offers
No broker calls. No data sold. No obligation.
The gut-check framework
Rate
What exact rate is written in the offer, and is it a supported 5-year fixed renewal offer?
Term
Are you comparing the same term and fixed or variable structure?
Payment assumptions
What balance, amortization, and payment frequency were used?
Product terms
What penalties, prepayment privileges, portability rules, fees, restrictions, and expiry date apply?
Structure
Does the mortgage include a HELOC, collateral charge, refinance request, added borrowing, or other feature that could affect options?
Deadline
What happens if you do not respond before maturity or before the offer expires?
Questions worth reviewing
- Is the written rate attached to the same term and fixed or variable structure being compared?
- Is the payment jump explained by rate, balance, amortization, payment frequency, or fees?
- Are penalty wording, prepayment privileges, portability, and restrictions clear?
- Are switching, refinancing, collateral-charge, or linked-product issues relevant to your file?
- Do you have the final rate, terms, and expiry date in writing?
Current FairRate Canada scope
FairRate Canada's benchmark-backed free checker and paid benchmark reports currently support Canadian 5-year fixed renewal offers only. Variable-rate offers, shorter fixed terms, refinances, purchase mortgages, and complex restructuring scenarios should not be forced against that reference.
FairRate provides educational market-context and scheduled-payment comparison. It does not arrange mortgages, guarantee approval, guarantee another rate, guarantee savings, or provide legal, financial, brokerage, underwriting, or lender advice.
Related gut-check pages
Important limitation: FairRate Canada is an independent consumer-paid educational comparison and reporting product — not a lender, mortgage broker, mortgage agent, law firm, financial advisor, or mortgage underwriter. FairRate does not arrange mortgages, take applications, approve credit, or sell mortgage inquiries to lenders or brokers. The current benchmark-backed checker and paid benchmark reports support Canadian 3-year fixed and 5-year fixed renewal offers and use fresh public same-term fixed comparison context when a usable source is available. Variable-rate and unsupported terms should not be compared against these fixed-term references. Broader Bank of Canada data may be used for contextual purposes. Results are not a lender quote, approval, qualification result, personalized advice, or guarantee of a lower rate or savings. Verify current rates, eligibility, fees, penalties, product terms, and switching costs with the relevant lender and, where appropriate, a licensed mortgage professional or other qualified advisor.