1. Client Services
  2. Get to Know Your Mortgage
  3. Ways to Save
Family in front of home

Save money on interest charges, and pay down your mortgage faster

Your Keys To Financial Freedom

 Ways to save

Prepayment privileges
Pay an additional 20% of your original mortgage amount once per calendar year by:
  • Paying a lump sum
  • Increasing the amount of your regular monthly payments
  • Doubling up your payments. Your regular principal and interest payments will double, which puts more toward paying down your principal  

You also may combine any of the above prepayment privileges without incurring prepayment charges. The amount you are prepaying cannot exceed 20% of your original mortgage amount.

Prepayment privileges are only available once per calendar year. Unused portions cannot be carried forward.

If you contribute less than 20% of your mortgage amount to your prepayment privileges, your interest costs and time to pay off your mortgage can still be reduced.

See the impact by using our Mortgage Payoff Calculator.

Changing your payment frequency
Changing your payment frequency can result in big savings

Changing your payment frequency won’t change the amount you pay on a monthly basis, but can result in big savings over the life of your mortgage and help you become mortgage-free faster.

Accelerated payments are a great way to achieve interest cost savings and reduce the time it takes to pay down your mortgage. An accelerated bi-weekly payment option is calculated by taking a monthly payment schedule (assuming only four weeks in a month) and dividing your monthly payment by two. You make 26 bi-weekly payments, and by the end of a year, you will have paid the equivalent of one extra monthly payment.

These additional amounts accelerate your loan payoff because they are put toward your loan's principal. This will save you thousands of dollars in interest, and take years off of your mortgage.

Example

The client:

  • Victoria has a mortgage of $250,000 and regular monthly payments of $1,454.02
  • To pay down her mortgage faster, Victoria decides to switch to accelerated bi-weekly payments

The solution:

  • Victoria’s new payment comes to $727.01 every two weeks, totaling $1,454.02 every 4 weeks
  • An additional $1,454.02 is paid on her mortgage each year

The result:

  • Victoria’s interest costs over the life of her mortgage are reduced by $31,302.68
  • Her mortgage life is reduced by over three and a half years
Port your mortgage
Transfer your current mortgage to you new home

If your new loan amount is greater than or equal to your mortgage amount outstanding (refer to 'Glossary' tab for definition), you can transfer your existing interest rate, loan balance and maturity date to a new home. (Upon approval from one of our customer service representatives.) Prepayment charges will be refunded in part or in full within 90 days of the closing of your new mortgage amount.

Blend & extend
Take advantage of current interest rates

Take advantage of current rates if you are buying a new home, refinancing or renewing early.

Our blend and extend mortgage option takes the current interest rate on the balance of funds in your existing mortgage and blends the new rate to additional funds you wish to add for the new extended term.

There are no prepayment charges. The new loan amount must be greater than or equal to the mortgage amount outstanding. (Refer to 'Glossary' section below for definition.)

Glossary
Current interest rate

The interest rate currently being offered for a certain term.

  • For variable rate mortgages, your interest is compounded monthly, not in advance
  •  For fixed rate mortgages, the interest is compounded semi-annually and calculated half-yearly, not in advance
Interest adjustment date (IAD)

The amount of interest not being covered by a regular mortgage payment.

For example:

  • A mortgage was advanced on October 25, and the client requested monthly payments due on the fourth of each month
  • The IAD/settlement payment would be due for the period of October 25 to November 4
  •  The first mortgage payment would be due December 4
Mortgage amount outstanding The remaining balance, or principal, to be paid on your mortgage (as of today's date). 
Per diem

The daily interest rate charge, calculated by: (Mortgage amount x interest rate)/365 days

For example:

  • Mortgage amount: $223,345.62
  • Interest rate: 4.10%
  • Per diem: ($223,345.62 x 4.10%) / 365 days = $25.088 per day of interest
Similar mortgage rate The interest rate that applies to mortgages with similar terms and conditions to yours, on the date that you make a prepayment on your mortgage