What is Mortgage Porting? Can I Port My Mortgage?

Mar 43 min read

Mortgage Portability - What You Should Know

Mortgage porting is the ability to bring your current mortgage to a new home when you move.

In other words, if you have a $500,000 mortgage at a 3.5% rate and don't want to lose your rate, you can bring that mortgage to the new home with the same terms and conditions.

On the surface, this can sound confusing. I seem to confuse myself every time I talk about it.

So instead of thinking of it the way I just described it, think of it this way instead:

I'm buying a new home and need to apply for a new mortgage. It just so happens that my bank is offering me the exact same terms and conditions that I currently have. Great.

Done. That's all you need to know. Well mostly...

When I said "I need to apply for a new mortgage", I wasn't joking.

Most lenders allow you to port your mortgage, but the catch is that you need to re-apply for the mortgage. In other words, you need to qualify. Just because you qualified two years ago doesn't mean you can take that mortgage to the new home with no questions asked.

But hopefully, assuming you're still working and are in a similar financial situation, that shouldn't be a problem.

Larger or Smaller Mortgage Port Options

You might be wondering, what if I need a larger mortgage? Or a smaller mortgage?

Great questions.

If you need a larger mortgage, you'll have to go about it one of two ways.

Add a Second Mortgage: If your lender allows this, port your existing $500k mortgage and add a second mortgage "component" for just that additional amount."
Blend It Together: If your lender doesn’t do second mortgages, you’ll increase the entire amount. This means mixing your old $500k with the new $100k and getting a new rate and terms. If the old mortgage is the bigger portion, your rate won’t shift much. But if the new money outweighs the old, expect a noticeable change.

Think of it like water in glasses.

Option 1: You keep your first glass (the original mortgage) and pour some into a second glass (the new mortgage).

Option 2: You add water to the first glass, but it’s slightly different water, so the color changes a bit—or a lot—based on how much you add.

What happens if you need LESS money? Well first off, congrats. You're doing alright when you can sell your home and use some of the appreciation to pay down your mortgage.

Say you only need $400k of your original $500k. You’ll “pre-pay” that $100k difference. If your lender allows pre-payments, use that available room to avoid penalties. Anything over that limit will likely cost you extra.

You’ll keep the same rate and terms—just with a smaller mortgage.

That's mortgage porting in a nutshell.

If you have any questions, feel free to comment or contact me at alex@triedandtruemortgages.ca.

Happy to clear things up if my explanation above didn't do the job.

TL;DR:

Mortgage porting lets you take your current mortgage to a new home, but you must re-qualify.
Need more money? You can add a second mortgage or blend it with new terms.
Less money means pre-paying with penalties.