Mortgage renewal and switch leads
Homeowners with a term ending, reached while there is still time to compare.
Mortgage renewal leads are homeowners who have told us their term is coming up and that they would like to compare it, or move to a different lender. The whole game is timing. A renewal that surfaces four months out is a shopping conversation, and one that surfaces after the bank's letter is a race. Our campaigns are built for one broker at a time, so the inquiry reaches you alone.
- Homeowners with a term ending, with the timing on the form
- Built for straight switches and early renewals
- Exclusive and never resold
Renewal leads, in 40 seconds
How the renewal calendar works, where your window sits before the lender offer, and what the inquiry tells you.
Where a renewal lead sits on the calendar
The borrower is reachable for months. The current lender's offer lands late. Between the two is your window.
- About 120 days out
Rate holds open
Many lenders will hold a renewal rate this far ahead, and a broker can start a switch. The homeowner is thinking about it, has no letter yet and is easy to reach.
Borrower reachable - About 90 days out
Time to shop
A switch needs an application, an appraisal if one is required and the new lender's approval. FCAC points out that the new lender may use different criteria than the current one.
Borrower reachable - 21 days out, at the latest
The lender's offer lands
A federally regulated lender must send the renewal statement at least 21 days before the term ends. It has to say the offered rate will not rise before the renewal date.
Lender's offer - Final weeks
Offer in hand
The homeowner has a number from their own lender. A switch is still possible, but the file is now racing the maturity date.
Borrower reachable - Maturity day
The term ends
Renew, switch or pay out. Anyone who did not act earlier is deciding on the lender's timetable.
Dates are rules of thumb. Each lender sets its own rate-hold window, and the 21-day rule applies to federally regulated lenders.
What the stress test rule change means for switch leads
For years a homeowner with an uninsured mortgage had to requalify at a higher rate to leave their bank. That barrier is gone for straight switches, which is why switching is now a real pitch.
- OSFI, 21 November 2024
- OSFI no longer prescribes the minimum qualifying rate for an uninsured straight switch: an existing stand-alone mortgage moving between federally regulated institutions, with no increase in the loan amount or remaining amortization. Up to $3,000 can be added for related costs.
- Department of Finance, 16 December 2024
- The same relief for low-ratio insured mortgages that switch lenders at renewal, if the mortgage came from a federally regulated lender and was previously stress tested. No equity take-out.
- What still applies
- The new lender assesses the file like any new mortgage under its own underwriting policy. Pulling out equity or extending the amortization takes the file out of a straight switch, and a new insurance premium may apply.
Homeowners who want cash out are a different conversation, covered under refinance leads. To reach your own past clients before their term ends, see our guide to mortgage renewal marketing. Two ways to get renewal leads: a managed Facebook campaign under your name, or pay per lead. The company behind this site is Amplify Leads, month to month with no long contracts. Ads carry your brokerage name and licence number where your province requires it, and never promise a rate or an approval. See also how it works.
Questions brokers ask us
Do renewal borrowers still face the stress test when they switch lenders?
Often not. Since 21 November 2024 OSFI no longer prescribes the minimum qualifying rate for an uninsured straight switch between federally regulated lenders, and from 16 December 2024 the Department of Finance removed it for low-ratio insured mortgages that switch at renewal. The loan amount and amortization generally have to stay the same, with up to $3,000 allowed for costs and no equity take-out. The new lender still underwrites the file under its own policy, so approval is never a given.
When does the current lender send the renewal offer?
A federally regulated lender, such as a bank, has to send a renewal statement at least 21 days before the term ends, with the balance, rate, payment frequency, term and any fees. That is the legal minimum, not a shopping window. For a lender outside federal rules, the mortgage contract and your own enquiry to that lender decide, so ask.
What is the difference between mortgage assumption and portability?
Both move a mortgage, but in different directions. Portability lets a homeowner who sells and buys another home take their existing mortgage with them, and the lender decides whether the mortgage is eligible. Assumption lets a buyer take over the seller's mortgage along with the property, and the lender has to approve that buyer. FCAC notes that a prepayment penalty can apply when a ported mortgage is for a cheaper home, and that in some provinces a seller may stay liable after an assumption. Neither is a renewal, but both come up in renewal conversations.
Can you aim ads at people whose term is ending?
Not by renewal date, because nobody has that data. The campaign speaks to homeowners with a term coming due, and the form asks when the term ends, so you can sort the list by urgency.
How do I get these leads?
A managed campaign under your own name, or pay per lead in the provinces you work in. Leads are exclusive and never resold, and the contract is month to month. Book a free strategy call to talk it through.
See what a campaign would look like in your market
A free 30-minute call. We look at your province, your products and what is already working, and map out what we would build. If it is not a fit, you will hear that too.