Included
What the refinance fee covers
On a refinance the lawyer acts for the new lender as well as for you. The lender won’t advance until its lawyer confirms the title, pays out what must be paid and registers the new mortgage in the right priority. For homeowners in Scarborough, across Toronto and throughout the GTA; the wider picture of lenders and mortgages is on our real estate law page.
Included in the legal fee
- Review of your lender’s mortgage instructions against your commitment
- Title search and execution search
- Arranging the lender’s title insurance
- Preparation of the mortgage documents
- Paying out and discharging the existing mortgage
- Paying other debts from the advance where the lender requires it
- Direct access to your lawyer and law clerk by phone and email
- Reporting letter to you and your lender
Tell us up front
- Your new lender (a B-lender or alternative lender adds $400 + HST)
- Every mortgage and line of credit now registered on the home
- Whether you are married and your spouse isn’t on title
- Whether anyone is guaranteeing the mortgage
- Any debts the new lender expects paid out
- The funding date your lender has set
How it works
The refinance, step by step
A refinance usually takes two to three weeks from the lender’s instructions to funding. Most delays come from payout statements that arrive late or lender conditions nobody has cleared.
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Step 1: Instructions arrive from your lender
Once your new mortgage is approved, the lender or broker sends us instructions. We check them against the commitment you signed: amount, rate, term, amortization, fees and every condition, and raise any difference with you before documents are drawn.
You provide
- Mortgage commitment
- Existing mortgage and line of credit statements
- Government photo ID for each borrower
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Step 2: Title, executions and payouts
We search title and executions, confirm property taxes are paid, and order payout statements for the existing mortgage and any other debts the lender wants paid from the advance.
We handle
- Title and execution searches
- Payout statements
- Lender’s title insurance
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Step 3: Sign the new mortgage
We explain the charge, the standard terms that come with it and the disbursement of funds, then you sign at our office or by video. Any spouse’s consent and any guarantor’s documents are signed at the same time.
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Step 4: Funding and discharge
When the new lender funds, we register the new mortgage, pay out the old one and any listed debts, and send the surplus to you. We then follow up until the old mortgage’s discharge is registered.
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Step 5: Reporting letter
You and your lender receive our report on the completed refinance, with the registered mortgage and the title insurance policy.
Why Wannes Law
A Toronto law firm that keeps you informed
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A licensed Ontario lawyer
Rosalie Wannes, licensed by the Law Society of Ontario, is responsible for your file from start to finish.
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Fees before you commit
Instant online quotes and published flat fees, so you know the cost before you retain us.
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Every step explained
Plain-language explanations of what happens, what you provide and what we handle, at every stage.
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Direct access
Reach your lawyer and law clerk directly by phone and email while your matter is underway.
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Sign in person or remotely
Meet at our Sheppard Ave E office in Toronto, or review documents by video and courier the originals.
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English, Armenian and Arabic
Talk through your matter in the language you are most comfortable with.
Refinance, switch or second mortgage
Refinance, switch, line of credit or second mortgage: which one you need
People say “refinance” for several different transactions. They cost different amounts, and only some of them need a lawyer.
A switch at renewal
When your term ends you can move the same balance, over the same remaining amortization, to a new lender without a penalty. Since November 21, 2024, federally regulated lenders are no longer expected to apply the mortgage stress test to an uninsured straight switch like this, though they still underwrite the loan; OSFI explains the straight switch exemption. Some lenders complete switches through their own or a title insurer’s closing service; others instruct a lawyer. Ask which applies before you assume a legal fee.
A refinance
Borrowing more than you owe, extending the amortization or changing the terms mid-term is a refinance. The new lender registers a new mortgage, the old one is paid out and discharged, and if you are mid-term you pay a prepayment charge. Homeowners refinance to consolidate higher-interest debt, fund a renovation or a second suite, help a child with a down payment, or buy out a former partner, which is usually paired with a title transfer.
A home equity line of credit
A line of credit is usually registered as a collateral charge, often for more than you draw, so you can borrow again without re-registering. That flexibility can make it harder to move to another lender later without a new registration.
A second mortgage
If breaking your first mortgage would cost more than it saves, a second mortgage behind it may be cheaper overall, even at a higher rate. Your first mortgage terms may restrict further borrowing, so we check them. Second mortgages usually come from alternative or private lenders, covered below.
Blend and extend
Some lenders will blend your current rate with today’s rate and add new money without a penalty. If it stays with the same lender and registration, it may not involve a lawyer at all; if the lender needs a new or increased charge, it does.
Why a lawyer is involved
What your lawyer checks before the lender funds
The new lender relies on its lawyer to confirm that its mortgage will be registered in the priority it expects, over a title that is what it appears to be.
Title and priority
We confirm you own the home as the lender believes, and that nothing registered ahead of the new mortgage will outrank it: an old mortgage, a line of credit, a construction lien or a notice of security interest for a rented furnace or water heater. Whatever the lender says must come off is paid from the advance and discharged.
Executions and taxes
A writ of execution against any borrower attaches to the property and has to be dealt with before funding. Unpaid property tax ranks ahead of a mortgage, so lenders require it to be current; if it isn’t, the arrears are usually paid from the advance.
Title insurance for the lender
Almost every lender requires a lender’s title insurance policy on a refinance. We place it through Stewart Title, which sets the premium, and it appears as a disbursement. It protects the lender against covered title defects and fraud; your own owner’s policy from when you bought continues separately.
Debt consolidation
When a refinance is approved to pay off credit cards, car loans or other debts, the lender’s instructions often require us to pay those creditors directly from the advance and to confirm the balances, and sometimes to confirm the accounts are closed. The approval can depend on it, so bring current statements for every debt listed in your commitment.
Identity and fraud
We verify every borrower’s identity. Mortgage-free and lightly mortgaged homes are frequent targets of mortgage fraud, which is one reason lenders insist on independent verification and title insurance.
Before you accept
What to check in your mortgage commitment
By the time instructions reach us, you have usually already signed the commitment. These are the terms worth reading before you do.
The cost of leaving
Find the prepayment clause. On many fixed-rate mortgages the penalty for paying out early is the higher of three months’ interest and an interest rate differential, and the method for calculating the differential varies from lender to lender; the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada explains how prepayment penalties are calculated. Check the annual prepayment privileges too, and whether the mortgage is portable to your next home.
Standard or collateral charge
A standard charge secures the amount you borrow. A collateral charge can be registered for more, often up to the property’s value, which lets you borrow again later but can make switching lenders at renewal cost more. Ask which one you are getting.
Fees and cash-back
Lender fees, broker fees, appraisal fees and any cash-back you receive all belong in your comparison. Cash-back offers commonly have to be repaid in part if you leave early.
Conditions
Read every condition: proof of income, an appraisal at a stated value, payout of specific debts, a guarantor, or a spouse’s consent. A condition you can’t meet on the funding date delays the refinance, and a delay can mean paying the old lender another month or losing a rate hold.
Is it worth it?
If you are paying a penalty to refinance, add it to the new lender’s fees and compare the total with what you save over the new term. Sometimes a second mortgage or waiting until renewal comes out ahead.
Private lenders, guarantors and spouses
Private and second mortgages, independent legal advice and spousal consent
Three situations add documents to a refinance and deserve extra care.
Private and alternative lenders
If a bank won’t lend, a broker may place you with an alternative (B) lender or a private lender, often as a second mortgage. Expect a short term, frequently one year, a higher rate, and lender and broker fees taken off the advance. A private lender usually has its own lawyer, so you pay two sets of legal costs. Read what happens at maturity, whether the mortgage can be paid off early, and what a missed payment triggers, and have a realistic plan to refinance out. Our fee on a B-lender mortgage adds $400 + HST; private mortgages are quoted individually.
Independent legal advice for guarantors
Lenders often require a guarantor, or a co-borrower who isn’t getting the money, to receive independent legal advice before signing, so the lender can show that person understood the risk and signed freely. Because the lawyer on the refinance acts for the borrower and the lender, that advice should come from a different lawyer. If you are the one being asked to guarantee, understand that you are liable for the whole debt if the borrower doesn’t pay.
Your spouse’s consent
Under Ontario’s Family Law Act, a married spouse can’t mortgage a matrimonial home without the other spouse joining in or consenting, even if only one of them is on title. Lenders therefore require a spouse who isn’t on title to sign a consent to the new mortgage. If you are separated, or the consent can’t be obtained, tell us before instructions arrive: it changes what the lender will accept.
Fees
Refinance legal fee
Disbursements such as registration fees and the lender’s title insurance premium are itemised before you sign. Real estate disbursements in Ontario, explained
Get your instant quoteQuestions
Refinancing questions
Do I need a lawyer to refinance my mortgage in Ontario?
When a new mortgage is registered and the old one paid out, yes: the lender needs a lawyer to search title, register its mortgage and handle the funds. Some straight switches at renewal are handled through the lender’s own closing service, so ask your lender which applies.
Which value does the legal fee use?
The property value or the new mortgage amount, whichever is higher. The instant quote shows the fee before you retain us.
What counts as a B-lender?
For this fee, any lender other than TD (excluding its broker channel), BMO, HSBC, Scotiabank, CIBC, National Bank or RBC. B-lender mortgages add $400 + HST. Private mortgages are quoted individually.
Will I pay a penalty to refinance?
If you are part-way through a closed term, usually yes. On many fixed-rate mortgages it is the higher of three months’ interest and an interest rate differential. Ask your current lender for the figure before you commit.
My spouse isn’t on title. Do they need to sign?
If you are married and the home is your matrimonial home, yes: Ontario’s Family Law Act requires the other spouse to consent to a new mortgage, and lenders ask for a signed consent.
How long does a refinance take?
Usually two to three weeks from the lender’s instructions to funding, provided the payout statements arrive and the lender’s conditions are cleared in time.
When do I get the surplus funds?
On the funding date, once the new mortgage is registered and the old mortgage and any listed debts are paid out.
Related
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Areas We Serve
Serving clients across Toronto and the GTA
From our Toronto office we act for clients across the Greater Toronto Area, including Durham, York and Peel regions: Markham, Richmond Hill, Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa, Mississauga and Brampton.
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Scarborough
Real estate lawyer for Scarborough clients. Our office is on Sheppard Ave E.
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North York
Real estate lawyer for North York clients.
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Markham
Real estate lawyer for Markham clients.
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