Your Mortgage Is Coming Up for Renewal. Do You Have to Stay With Your Bank?

Your mortgage renewal letter shows up.

There's a new rate, a few term options and a spot to sign.

Easy.

And sometimes, signing it and moving on is absolutely the right decision.

But before you do, your mortgage renewal is a really good excuse to ask a bigger question:

Does the mortgage you have still fit the life you have now?

Because a lot can change over a mortgage term.

Your life probably didn't stand still for five years

Maybe your income went up.

Maybe it went down.

Maybe you went back to school. Had a baby. Took maternity or parental leave. Changed careers. Started a business. Took on some debt. Paid a bunch off.

Maybe one person in your household decided to stay home with the kids.

Or maybe you're earning more than you were five years ago and you're wondering whether you should be doing something differently with your mortgage.

Your renewal is a good time to look at all of it.

Not because something necessarily needs to change.

But because something might be able to.

You don't automatically have to stay with your current lender

This is something homeowners don't always realize.

When your mortgage comes up for renewal, you can accept the offer from your existing lender — or you can look at what else is available.

That doesn't mean switching lenders will always make sense.

Rate matters, obviously. But so do penalties, prepayment options, mortgage features, future plans, qualification requirements and the overall cost of making a change.

The lowest number on a rate sheet isn't automatically the best mortgage for your life.

And sometimes your current lender really is the best place to stay.

The point is to know before you sign.

And maybe this isn't just a renewal conversation

This is where looking at the bigger picture matters.

Maybe you've built significant equity in your home.

Maybe you're carrying higher-interest debt.

Maybe you're thinking about buying an investment property, renovating, helping a child with school, or buying that place in Mexico you've been talking about for three years.

Maybe absolutely nothing needs to change.

That's an answer too.

A renewal gives us an opportunity to look at where you are now, what you're paying, what your options are and what you want the next few years to look like.

Then you can make a decision based on your life today, not the life you had when you originally signed your mortgage.

Before you sign the renewal letter, have the conversation

You don't need to know whether you want to switch lenders, refinance, change your term or do anything at all.

Bring me the renewal.

Tell me what's changed.

Tell me what you're thinking about doing next.

We'll look at the options and figure out whether your current mortgage still makes sense.

Sometimes the answer will be to change something.

Sometimes the answer will be to sign the renewal and carry on.

Either way, you'll know why.