"Is my mortgage portable?"
The answer is probably yes.

"Is it easy to port my mortgage?"
The answer is probably not.

When you're selling your existing home and buying something else, porting your mortgage involves transferring the remainder of your current mortgage terms, including the interest rate, to that new property. If your current interest rate is lower than what is available in the market, this can be a great way to save some money and typically also allows you to transfer the mortgage with no prepayment penalties.  That said, sometimes it feels like the stars must align for it to work out.

A lot of people assume that porting a mortgage guarantees mortgage qualification on the purchase of a new property using the mortgage they got when they bought their last property. This absolutely is not the case.

Standard qualification with respect to employment, income, credit, etc. would have to be in line. The only thing that is being ported are the mortgage terms, so a new application is required as porting a mortgage requires full re-qualification.

The most common reasons porting doesn’t always work out as planned:

• You may not qualify for the new mortgage.
• The property you are buying doesn't meet the lender's guidelines.
• You still need a down payment.
• You'll likely have to pay a penalty, even if it's refunded later (if dates don’t line up properly).
• Timelines rarely work out. Every lender has their own guidelines with respect to portability timelines.

If you are in a situation where you have an existing mortgage, and you're looking to buy something else, if you'd like to discuss mortgage portability please don't hesitate to get in touch as we'd love to walk you through your options.