He pointed to extending amortizations, refinancing to roll in higher‑interest debt, or restructuring terms to improve monthly cash flow as options borrowers explore when payments become tight.
Options narrowed for borrowers who waited
Still, renewal has not guaranteed flexibility. Homeowners who no longer meet qualification rules often have to stay with their existing lender, Tran noted, limiting their ability to shop the market or access equity even with a perfect payment history – a constraint regulators and consumer‑credit agencies also highlighted as renewals reset at higher rates.
“Missed payments usually don’t happen all at once,” Tran said. “As renewals roll through at higher rates, pressure builds month by month, especially for homeowners with tighter budgets, and many don’t realize how quickly options can narrow if they wait until close to renewal to revisit how their mortgage is structured.”
For Toronto borrowers heading into renewal, Tran’s message is that early engagement matters: understand how arrears are treated, assess income and debt before signing a new term, and approach the lender – or a broker – while there is still time to adjust the mortgage rather than after a missed payment forces the issue.
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