Residential Mortgage Refinancing Lawyers in Whitby

Whether you are refinancing your mortgage to pay off mounting debt, to help your adult children with their debt, or to undertake home renovations, for example, the Whitby real estate lawyers at M. G. Michaels & Associates can help you consider the options available to you (such as staying with the same lender; changing lenders; negotiating a reduction of the mortgage penalties; moving to a fixed-rate to a variable rate mortgage of vice-versa) before you lock in your refinancing decision.

You also need to be aware of demands a new mortgage closing might have, such as paying off all of your existing debt (credit cards, lines of credit, et cetera) so that you are prepared to borrow more money than you intended so you aren’t scrambling to find the resources in order to close the new mortgage.

Refinancing your mortgage is not the same as renewing it. Generally, people refinance when their financial needs have increased, and they need to borrow more money to meet those needs. Alternatively, some people refinance when there has been a reduction in interest rates that they feel warrants the expense of the legal and bank fees required to refinance.

While lawyer’s fees do not vary significantly from mortgage refinancing transaction to transaction, the bank fees can and do vary considerably. Most banks will charge the equivalent of three months’ interest, and sometimes a great deal more because while you are refinancing to take advantage of the lower interest rate, you are asking the bank to release you for your contract with them at a higher interest rate resulting in lost revenue for them.

Before moving forward with a refinance of your mortgage, consider the other options available to you, such as a second mortgage or unsecured loan. But, don’t forget that this means you will have two monthly payments to meet, whereas refinancing the mortgage only will leave you with only one month payment.

The current ‘rule of thumb’ is that if you are able to negotiate even a 1% reduction in the interest rate on your mortgage, it is worthwhile provided that you can absorb the penalty costs. In that way, you will be able to reduce your regular monthly payments.

However, if you maintain your pre-refinancing monthly payments (even though the rate reduction will require a smaller payment), you will increase the equity in your home more quickly.

But exercise caution if you plan to refinance your mortgage to paydown mounting debt.

If you simply translate the amounts you owe on high-interest credit cards and mid-interest lines of credit to the lower-interest mortgage, once you pay off the legal costs and penalties and are faced with higher monthly payments on the mortgage, you may well find yourself facing newly mounting debt.

It can be a vicious cycle that you may want to address with the lawyers at M. G. Michaels & Associates for options other than mortgage refinancing.

Lawyers are required by the Ontario Land Registration Office to register all instruments against title to any property in Ontario, including mortgages. But the Whitby real estate lawyers at M. G. Michaels & Associates help with more than simply the paperwork, namely referrals to individuals who can offer you real assistance with the issues that give rise to your exploration of a mortgage refinancing.

If you are trying to pay off credit cards, a credit counsellor (not a bankruptcy or receivership trustee, but someone to help you learn to manage your credit more wisely) may be appropriate so you do not return to the same situation in a year or two.

If you are trying to help an adult child purchase their first home, co-signing their mortgage might be a wiser option.

We are pleased to help our clients explore the options available to them so that they choose the best course of action.

Mortgage refinancing fees are $475.00 plus disbursements, Title Insurance (if required) and HST. Typically, the disbursements range between $375 and $XXX depending on whether we are required to pay off many of your credit card-type debts by certified cheque using courier services or not.

Our law clerk handles most of these efficiently and quickly and the only delays we experience are if the bank’s mortgage department is slow providing instructions, or the client is slow providing the documents the bank requires (such as credit card statements, proof that the property taxes are paid up-to-date, et cetera).

The Whitby real estate lawyers at M. G. Michaels & Associates understand that clients usually require quick services, and we do everything possible to provide that to them.

The Whitby real estate lawyers at M. G. Michaels & Associates treat you like a person, and not like a file number or simple closing date like many boutique real estate firms treat their clients. We provide full real estate services to our family law, wills and estates and other clients as well as those only seeking real estate services.

We also act as the neutral third-party lawyer to spouses selling their matrimonial homes, but who are not willing to use either the husband’s or the wife’s lawyer to handle the transaction, or hold the money in trust until they have agreed on a settlement.

We have represented hundreds of clients since our founder, Marie G. Michaels, began practising law in March 1997, and we recruited a highly experienced law clerk to process the paper-heavy process in real estate law. The team at M. G. Michaels & Associates invite you to speak with our Whitby real estate lawyers to answer your specific questions.