What does “portable” actually mean when it comes to your mortgage?

When you are selling your current home and buying a new one many mortgages are “portable” which means you can take the mortgage to the new house. Here are 5 things people don’t always know about porting your mortgage:

The rate stays the same

So if interest rates have gone down you actually might chose to break your mortgage instead of port it because you can save more money. I like to remind people just because you CAN port your mortgage it doesn’t always mean you should.

You need to qualify

When a lender ports a mortgage it requires the lawyer to change the address on the mortgage. This change requires you to re-qualify for the mortgage at today’s government regulations and interest rates. This means if you have had income impacts due to covid-19, missed payments on credit or taken CERB this could impact your qualification.

The lender needs to approve the new property

If you decide to buy a home outside the lenders current guidelines for location, condition, square footage, acreage or some other reason your current mortgage lender may not allow you to port your mortgage to this new property.

You still need a deposit

Many clients forget that even though you can use your current equity as a down payment you will still need deposit money when you make your offer. The deposit is money needs to be provided with your offer, in some cases you can use a line of credit but it may need to be accounted for on the inside.

You still need to be pre-approved

Even if you plan to use your current home equity for a down payment and port your mortgage you still need to be pre-approved. In so many cases the dates don’t line up and the port is not approved. You need to KNOW what you are able to purchase. You cannot assume your lender can still give you the same amount of money you currently are being lent, you need to make sure that is the case before you sign a legal contract to buy a home.

If you are planning to sell a home and buy something new let us help you plan so that you know all your options.