Mortgage Payments in Canada: Frequency, Costs, Paying Down and Payment Problems

This hub covers the life of a mortgage after you have it: how and how often you pay, what the payment and the rest of owning a home cost, whether extra cash should go to the mortgage, how to change the payment, and what happens when paying becomes difficult. The calculators that work out payments are in the mortgage calculator directory.

How you pay

Mortgage payment frequency: monthly, semi-monthly, bi-weekly, weekly and the accelerated options, and what each one saves.
Paying property tax through your mortgage: how a lender’s property tax account works, and the case for paying the city yourself.
How to read your mortgage statement: each section of the annual statement, and what to check.
The interest adjustment date: the extra interest charged between closing and your first regular payment.

What payments cost

The average mortgage payment in Canada: typical payments by province and city.
Monthly carrying costs of owning a home: property tax, insurance, utilities, maintenance and condo fees on top of the mortgage, with a homeowner budget.
Payments by mortgage amount: the payment and total interest on loans of different sizes.

Paying it down faster, or not

Paying down the mortgage vs investing: the guaranteed return of a prepayment against investing in a TFSA, RRSP or taxable account.
Emergency fund vs mortgage paydown: why cash you can reach may come first.
The extra payment calculator: what lump sums and higher payments save in interest and years.
Paying off a mortgage early and prepayment privileges: how much a closed mortgage lets you prepay without a penalty.

Changing the payment

Mortgage recast: using a lump sum to lower the payment while keeping your rate and term.
Extending your amortization: stretching an existing mortgage to cut the payment, and what it costs in interest.
Payment shock at renewal: how much your payment could rise when your term ends.
Why your mortgage payment went up: every reason a payment can rise, from a rate change to the property tax account.
The trigger point on a variable mortgage: your options when fixed payments stop covering the balance.
The amortization calculator: the year-by-year schedule for any payment.

When paying gets hard

Missing a mortgage payment: what happens after a missed payment, the timeline, and what to do.
Mortgage payment deferral: how a deferral works and what it costs.
Keeping your home after a job loss: EI, talking to your lender, and the options before a forced sale.

Your mortgage over the years

These guides sit in the renewal hub but are about managing payments during the term:

Porting your mortgage when you move to a new home.
Your mortgage when you move provinces.
Your mortgage and retirement: paying it off before you retire, or not.
An annual mortgage planning calendar: a yearly review of your payments and options.

Choosing between lenders’ offers in the first place is covered in comparing mortgage offers.