Canadian mortgage guides
How rates are set, what you can afford, what insurance and penalties cost, and how to use your home equity — explained in plain English, with worked examples and links to the official sources.
Mortgage Rates in Canada: How They're Set and How to Get the Best One
How Canadian mortgage rates are set — bond yields, prime and your own file — why posted rates aren't what you pay, and how to get the best rate.
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How to Use a Mortgage Calculator (and Read an Amortization Schedule)
Get real answers from a mortgage calculator: the four inputs, Canadian semi-annual compounding, reading an amortization schedule and what prepayments save.
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How Much Mortgage Can I Afford in Canada?
The GDS and TDS ratios, the stress test and the down payment rules lenders use to decide how much you can borrow — with a worked example.
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Fixed vs Variable Mortgage in Canada: How to Choose
Fixed rate or variable mortgage? How each works in Canada, the two kinds of variable, what it costs to break each one, and how to decide.
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Mortgage Broker vs Bank: Which Gets You the Better Mortgage?
How mortgage brokers and banks differ, how brokers are paid, how to check a broker's licence, and a checklist for comparing mortgage quotes.
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CMHC Mortgage Insurance: What It Costs and When You Need It
When you need CMHC mortgage insurance, the premium at each down payment level, provincial sales tax, and a worked example on a $600,000 home.
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HELOC Explained: How a Home Equity Line of Credit Works in Canada
How a home equity line of credit works in Canada: the 65% and 80% limits, HELOC rates, interest-only payments, and a worked example.
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The Smith Manoeuvre: Making Mortgage Interest Tax-Deductible in Canada
How the Smith Manoeuvre (Smith maneuver) turns mortgage debt into tax-deductible investment debt, what CRA's rules require, and the risks.
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