Five Questions Every Homeowner Asks Me
If credit card balances, a car loan, and a line of credit are all pulling at you every month, your home's equity might be able to help.
Refinancing means breaking your current mortgage and replacing it with a new one — often at a different amount, rate, or term. One of the most common reasons homeowners do this is to roll high-interest debt into their mortgage, where the interest rate is usually far lower.
You are not supposed to know all of this already. When I talk with clients about refinancing to consolidate debt, my job is to walk through the real math — not just the monthly payment relief, but the full trade-offs — so you know whether it actually moves you forward.
Here are the five questions I get asked most often.
What does it actually mean to refinance my mortgage?
Refinancing means breaking your current mortgage and replacing it with a new one — usually to borrow additional funds against your home's equity, get a better rate, or change your term or amortization.
It's different from a renewal. A renewal is simply continuing your existing mortgage at the end of its term. A refinance is a new mortgage altogether, which means a full application, a fresh appraisal, and requalifying with the lender.
How much of my home's equity can I actually access?
In Canada, you can generally refinance up to 80% of your home's appraised value, minus whatever you still owe on your existing mortgage.
So if your home is worth $700,000 and you owe $350,000, you could potentially access up to roughly $210,000 in additional funds — bringing your total mortgage to $560,000, or 80% of the home's value. The exact amount still depends on your income, credit, and overall debt load.
Will I have to requalify for a refinance?
Yes — this is one of the biggest differences from a straight renewal. Refinancing always requires full requalification, including the mortgage stress test, regardless of whether you stay with your current lender or move to a new one.
That means your income, credit, and debt load all get a fresh look. It's worth knowing this going in, especially if your financial picture has changed since your last mortgage.
Does it actually make sense to consolidate my debt into my mortgage?
Often, yes — but it's worth doing the math with me rather than assuming. Mortgage rates are typically far lower than credit cards, car loans, or lines of credit, so rolling that debt in can meaningfully lower your monthly payments and simplify things down to one bill.
The trade-off: you're usually stretching that debt out over a much longer amortization, so you may pay more in total interest over time even at a lower rate, if the balance isn't paid down faster than the mortgage requires.
What does refinancing actually cost me?
There are real costs to factor in before deciding if it's worth it:
- A prepayment penalty, if you're breaking your current term early
- An appraisal fee to confirm your home's current value
- Legal fees to register the new mortgage
- Potential discharge fees from your current lender
Depending on how much you're borrowing and what you're using it for, these costs are sometimes worth it and sometimes not. I'd rather run the numbers with you upfront than have you find out after the fact.
What I Actually Do For You As Your Broker
Refinancing to consolidate debt only makes sense if the math actually works in your favour. Here's how I help you figure that out:
- I run the real numbers, penalty included — before we go any further, I calculate what breaking your current term actually costs, so we know upfront whether refinancing is worth it.
- I compare lenders for the best available rate — since refinancing means a fresh application anyway, I shop your file across multiple lenders instead of just going back to your current one.
- I help you build a plan for the debt you're rolling in — consolidating only helps long-term with a strategy behind it, and I want to make sure this solves the problem rather than just resets the clock.
- I compare refinancing against the alternatives — sometimes a HELOC or a smaller, targeted solution makes more sense than refinancing your whole mortgage, and I'll tell you if that's the case.
- Typically no cost to you — in most cases, I'm compensated by the lender, not the client, so getting my honest read on your options doesn't cost you anything.
My job is to make sure refinancing actually improves your financial picture — not just your monthly payment on paper.