The cheapest rate and the cheapest mortgage are rarely the same thing.
This guide explains how we work, what we look for, and what the mortgage will actually cost you. Not over the next five years, but over all of them.
01 · Start here
Where you are, and what happens next
Three stages. You are at the beginning of the first one, and nothing is committed until you decide it is.
No credit is pulled, no application is started, and nothing is submitted to any lender until you've had the call and told us to proceed.
02 · Who you're working with
Kirkwood & Brennan, by the numbers
We'd rather show you the record than describe it.
On the reviews: a business with 137 ratings almost always has a scattering of threes and fours. We don't. That number is the one we're proudest of, because it's the only one clients wrote themselves.
03 · How we think
Two mortgages. Same rate. Very different cost.
Rate is one input out of six or seven. It happens to be the only one most people can see, so it's the only one most people shop, and the ones they can't see are usually the ones that cost them.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Balance at break | $500,000 |
| Contract rate (both) | 4.99% |
| Time remaining | 36 months |
| A: three months' interest | $500,000 × 4.99% ÷ 4 = $6,238 |
| B: interest rate differential | $500,000 × 1.00% × 3 yrs = $15,000 |
Nobody plans to break a mortgage early. People change jobs, separate, relocate, have a third child, buy the neighbour's lot, or simply find a rate worth moving for. Roughly one in eight Canadian mortgage holders paid a prepayment penalty in the most recent industry survey, and the average one was $6,732, up more than three thousand dollars in a single year.
So we work the problem backwards. Not "what's the lowest rate today," but "what will this cost across everything that might actually happen."
03b · Your situation
Which of these is you?
The rest of the guide applies to everyone. This part doesn't. Pick the one that fits.
First-time buyer
There is more free money available to you than at any other point in your ownership life. Most of it has to be claimed correctly and on time.
FHSA: the First Home Savings Account
$8,000 of contribution room per year, $40,000 lifetime. Deductible going in, tax-free coming out. Unused room carries forward, but only $8,000 of it, so the most you can put in during any one year is $16,000.
RRSP Home Buyers' Plan
Withdraw up to $60,000 each, tax-free, repayable over 15 years. If your first withdrawal falls between 2022 and 2028, repayments don't begin until the fifth year after. That is a recent extension most people haven't heard about.
You can use both
The FHSA and the Home Buyers' Plan stack on the same purchase. A couple who has maximized both is looking at up to $200,000 of down payment before a dollar of after-tax savings.
30-year amortization
First-time buyers now qualify for 30-year amortization on an insured mortgage, where it used to be 25. Lower payment, more interest overall. A lever, not a free win. We'll show you both.
GST rebate on new construction
Up to $50,000 back on a newly built home valued to $1,000,000, phasing out to $1,500,000. Once per lifetime, and the agreement date matters: it must be on or after March 20, 2025.
BC Property Transfer Tax exemption
Full exemption available up to $835,000, partial to $860,000. One catch that trips people constantly: the exemption applies to the first $500,000 of value, so at $835,000 you do not pay zero.
Alberta has no land transfer tax
You'll pay Land Titles registration fees instead, roughly $50 plus $1 per $1,000 on the transfer, and the same again on the mortgage. On a $500,000 home with a $400,000 mortgage, about $1,000 total.
Renewal or refinance
Four in five Canadians renew with their existing lender. It is the single most expensive habit in Canadian personal finance.
The renewal letter is not an offer
It's an opening bid, priced on the assumption you won't shop. Your lender knows exactly how many people sign it and send it back.
Switching got easier
Since late 2024, a straight switch to a new lender at renewal (same balance, same remaining amortization) no longer requires passing the prescribed stress test. Lenders still underwrite, but the biggest barrier came down.
Check your charge type first
If your current mortgage is registered as a collateral charge, moving lenders means discharging and re-registering, which is real legal cost. Worth knowing before you start, not after.
Breaking early can still win
Sometimes the penalty is smaller than the savings. We run that math for you, and we run it before your renewal window, not during it.
Investor
Beyond the second or third property, structure matters more than rate, and lender selection stops being about price.
Rental income treatment varies wildly
Lenders differ enormously in how much rental income they'll credit and how they treat it. The same file can pass at one lender and fail at another on this alone.
Sequencing
Which lender you use for property three determines what's available for property five. We plan the order, not just the deal in front of us.
Making mortgage interest deductible
The Smith Manoeuvre and cash damming can convert non-deductible mortgage interest into deductible interest. Powerful, genuinely not for everyone, and it needs your accountant at the table.
We'll work with your accountant
Corporate holdings, personal holdings, and the tax consequences of each. We'd rather coordinate than have you relay messages between us.
Self-employed
You are not harder to approve. You are harder to document, and those are different problems with different solutions.
The write-off paradox
Everything your accountant did to reduce your taxable income works against you here. Lenders read line 15000, not your revenue.
Add-backs
Some lenders will add back a portion of what you expensed. Which ones, and how much, is exactly the kind of thing worth having someone who does this daily.
Two-year history
Most lenders want two years of filed returns and notices of assessment. If you're approaching that mark, timing your purchase can matter more than anything else in your file.
Build in extra time
Self-employed files take longer. That's not a problem if we start early. It's only a problem if we find out about it during a financing condition.
04 · The standard
What you should expect from anyone handling your mortgage
Not from us specifically. From anyone. Take this list to your bank, to another broker, to whoever else you're speaking with. It is a fair test and we're happy to be measured by it.
- 1A written comparison of total cost, not a rate quoteA rate is one number. What you're deciding is a five-year cash outcome with several moving parts. You should see it written down.
- 2Clear disclosure of how they are paid, and how it changes by productCompensation differs by lender and by term length. If nobody has volunteered that, ask. The answer tells you a great deal.
- 3The penalty calculation method explained before you signNot the number. The method. Three months' interest, or an interest rate differential? And if it's the differential, measured against what?
- 4Your prepayment privileges stated in plain numbersHow much can you put down each year without penalty, and how much can you raise the payment? Across the market this ranges from 10% to 20%, which is a real difference.
- 5Whether the charge is collateral or standard, and what that costs you laterThis decides whether leaving at renewal is free or expensive. Almost nobody raises it at the application stage.
- 6A plan for renewal, discussed nowNot a letter in the mail in year five. Four in five people renew with their existing lender, and lenders price accordingly.
- 7Questions about your ten-year plan, not just this year's approvalA mortgage built for someone staying five years is the wrong mortgage for someone moving in two.
- 8Willingness to talk to your lawyer, accountant or financial plannerYour mortgage is usually your largest liability and often your largest tax lever. It shouldn't be decided in isolation from the people advising you on both.
We aren't going to tell you that other people are bad at this. We'd rather give you the questions and let the answers speak.
05 · Compensation
How we get paid, and why we're telling you
Mortgage brokers are paid directly by the lender, not by you. That does not mean we have no biases. It means ours are worth knowing about.
So we lay it all on the line. You will see what every option pays us, including the ones that pay us less. We will always put what is best for you first, and we will stay fully transparent about what that costs us.
06 · Your options
Bank, broker, or rate comparison site
Each of these can get you a mortgage. They differ in who they work for and what happens after you sign.
| Your bank | A broker | |
|---|---|---|
| Lenders available to you | One | Dozens, including lenders that don't deal with the public |
| Who they work for | The bank | You |
| If you're declined | The conversation ends | The file moves to a lender who says yes |
| At renewal | A letter, priced on the odds you sign it | The market re-shopped on your behalf |
| Charge registered | Often collateral, which makes leaving expensive | Standard charge available at many lenders |
| Who pays | Built into your rate | The lender, disclosed to you in writing |
Rate comparison sites are a useful sanity check on price and nothing more. They rank a single variable, which is precisely the variable this guide argues is the least reliable one to rank on.
The Big Six banks hold about three quarters of Canadian mortgage debt. That is a fact about distribution and habit, not about who offers the best terms.
07 · The process
The whole journey, on one page
Most versions of this diagram end at "keys." Ours doesn't, and that's the part worth noticing.
- Day oneThe first call30 to 45 minutes. Goals, timeline, income, down payment, plans. We build the strategy before we touch a lender.
- Days 1 to 3ApplicationWe complete it together or you complete it online. Credit is pulled once, with your consent.
- Days 2 to 7DocumentsIncome, down payment, identification. Section 9 has the full list by employment type.
- Days 3 to 10Lender selection & approvalWe place the file where it fits best, not just cheapest. Approval typically 24 to 72 hours once documents are complete.
- VariesOffer & financing conditionAppraisal if required, conditions satisfied, financing condition removed. This is the tightest window in the whole process.
- 2 to 3 weeks outYour lawyer or notaryInstructions go out, you sign, funds are arranged. Section 10 covers what you'll need in cash.
- PossessionFundingMoney moves, title transfers, you get the keys.
- Every year, ongoingMonitoring & annual reviewWe watch your mortgage against the market for the life of the term, looking for moments where breaking early nets out ahead even after the penalty.
- Months before maturityRenewal strategyWe start the renewal conversation early enough that you have leverage, rather than a deadline.
08 · Preparation
What we'll ask on the first call, and why
So you can think about it beforehand rather than being put on the spot. None of this requires paperwork yet.
Where are you trying to get to?
Not just this purchase. Kids, a move, a business, a second property, retirement. The mortgage should be built for the plan, not just the closing date.
How long do you expect to hold this?
The single most useful thing you can tell us. A two-year horizon and a fifteen-year horizon point to genuinely different products.
How is your income structured?
Salary, hourly, commission, bonus, self-employed, rental, or some combination. This drives lender selection more than any other factor.
Where is the down payment coming from?
Savings, RRSP, FHSA, a gift, sale proceeds, or investments. Every source has different documentation and some need 90 days of history, worth knowing early.
What else do you owe?
Car, student loans, credit cards, lines of credit, support payments. We need the real picture; there is nothing here we haven't seen.
What would make this a good outcome?
Lowest payment, fastest payoff, maximum flexibility, biggest purchase, lowest risk. These pull against each other. Knowing your priority shapes everything.
We ask about the ten-year plan because a mortgage structured for someone staying put is the wrong mortgage for someone moving in two years, and the cost of getting that wrong shows up as a penalty, not as a rate.
09 · Documents
What we'll need, and why each one matters
Gather these early and the process gets dramatically easier. Nearly every delay we see traces back to a document arriving late.
Everyone
- Government photo ID
- Void cheque or pre-authorized debit form
- Purchase contract, once you have one
- MLS listing for the property
- Lawyer or notary contact details
Down payment
- 90 days of history on every account the funds come from
- Gift letter, if any of it is gifted
- Sale documents, if it's coming from another property
- Investment or RRSP/FHSA statements
Salaried or hourly
- Letter of employment, recent and on letterhead
- Two most recent pay stubs
- T4s for the last two years
- Notices of Assessment, two years
Commission or bonus
- Everything in the salaried list
- T1 Generals, two years complete
- Notices of Assessment, two years
- Lenders average variable income, so two years matters
Self-employed
- T1 Generals with all schedules, two years
- Notices of Assessment, two years
- Business licence or articles of incorporation
- Financial statements if incorporated
- Proof no tax is owing
Existing properties
- Current mortgage statement for each
- Property tax bill for each
- Lease agreements, if rented
- Condo fee documentation where applicable
While your file is in progress, please don't
None of these are rules we invented. They're the six things that most often turn an approved file into a declined one between offer and possession.
10 · Cash at closing
Pre-approval is not approval, and what your cash needs to cover
Two things ambush more buyers than anything else in this process. Both are entirely avoidable.
A pre-approval is a rate hold and a size estimate
It says a lender would likely lend you roughly this much, at roughly this rate, if everything checks out. It is not a commitment to fund.
What can still change it
The property itself, the appraisal, a change in your income or credit, or documents that don't match what was stated. Full approval comes after a lender reviews a specific property.
| Cost | Amount |
|---|---|
| Property Transfer Tax, standard | $13,000 |
| Property Transfer Tax if you qualify as a first-time buyer | $5,000 instead |
| Legal / notary fees and disbursements | $1,300 to $2,500 |
| Title insurance | $200 to $400 |
| Appraisal | $300 to $600 |
| Home inspection | $350 to $800 |
| Land title registration | ≈ $171 |
| Property tax and utility adjustments | Varies with closing date |
| Cost | Amount |
|---|---|
| Land transfer tax | None. Alberta doesn't charge one |
| Land Titles, transfer registration | $550 |
| Land Titles, mortgage registration | $450 |
| Legal fees plus GST | $1,000 to $2,800 |
| Legal disbursements | $300 to $600 |
| Title insurance | $200 to $500 |
| Appraisal | $300 to $600 |
| Home inspection | $325 to $950 |
| Real Property Report & compliance | Usually the seller's obligation |
| Property tax adjustment | Varies with closing date |
11 · The fine print
The clauses that cost people money
This is the section we'd most like you to read twice. Almost nobody has these explained to them before they sign, and they are where the large numbers live.
The prepayment penalty
On a closed fixed mortgage, breaking early costs you the greater of three months' interest, or an interest rate differential. That phrase, "the greater of," is doing an enormous amount of work.
Measured against which rate?
Here is the mechanic nobody explains. Several major banks don't compare your rate to what they'd charge a new borrower today. They compare it to today's posted rate, then subtract the discount you were given at the start.
Work the algebra through and your discount cancels out entirely. The penalty ends up driven by the movement in the bank's own posted rate curve, a number you never agreed to, can't predict, and which has little to do with the rate you actually pay.
Collateral charge versus standard charge
A standard charge registers the actual amount of your mortgage. A collateral charge registers a larger amount, sometimes up to 125% of the property's value, and can secure other debts you hold with the same lender.
What it buys you
You can borrow more later without a full refinance. Genuinely useful if you'll draw on your equity.
What it costs you
A new lender generally won't take over a collateral charge. Leaving means discharging and re-registering: a lawyer, title work, real fees. Any car loan or line of credit secured by it must also be repaid or moved.
Prepayment privileges
How much you may pay down each year without penalty. Across the market this ranges from 10% to 20% of the original principal, with payment-increase privileges in a similar range, and a couple of lenders allow you to double the payment outright. It's rarely mentioned in a rate quote and it compounds over the full amortization.
One warning: unusually generous privileges are sometimes priced into a slightly higher rate. Like everything else here, it's a trade, not a free feature.
Portability
Porting takes your existing rate and terms to a new home, avoiding the penalty when you move. Three things to know: you must re-qualify, because it's a fresh underwrite, so a job change or a credit slip can kill it; the closing gap is limited and lender-specific; and if the new home needs a bigger mortgage, the extra is priced at today's rate and blended with your existing one.
12 · After funding
Most people hear from their broker twice
At funding, and at renewal if they're lucky. We think that's backwards, because the origination is the smallest of the decisions you'll make on this mortgage.
Origination Yr 5 Yr 10 Yr 15 Yr 20 Yr 25
Paid off
What we actually do after your mortgage funds
We monitor it for its life
We track your mortgage against the market looking for moments where breaking early nets out ahead after the penalty. We run that math before you'd think to ask.
An annual review
A conversation each year about whether the structure still fits, because your life changes faster than your mortgage term does.
Renewal handled early
We start months before maturity, while you still have leverage. Not when a letter arrives with a deadline attached.
A prepayment plan
Your privileges are worth using deliberately. We'll show you what a specific extra payment does to your amortization and your total interest.
13 · Working together
How we'll work, and what happens next
Response time
We respond to every message within four business hours. You will also have both of our personal cell numbers, so if something is ever urgent you are never waiting on an inbox.
Who you'll deal with
The two owners, directly. Keaton is your personal guide through the whole process, handling the planning and execution of your mortgage. Scott works with you to gather your documents and handles all communication with the lenders.
Total cost, in writing
Every option we present comes with a written comparison of what it costs across the term, not a rate on its own.
Our compensation, on every option
Including the options that pay us less. Especially those.
We also work with
If you're a homeowner paying non-deductible mortgage interest and you also hold investments, ask us about making a portion of that interest tax-deductible. It's not for everyone and it needs your accountant involved, but very few brokers can even have the conversation.
One next step
Book the initial call. Thirty to forty-five minutes, no obligation, no credit pulled, and no application started until you say so.
Book your call