A YYZ Mortgage Guide · No. 02
The Big Switch
Selling one home and buying the next — without losing sleep (or money)
Who it's for: You own a home, you're eyeing the next one (or your renewal letter just landed), and the timing math is stressful.
Download the PDF — 29 pages, 727 KB
Free, no email required. Every figure is sourced, and nothing in it is a sales pitch.
The short version
- Get your break penalty in writing before you list. Fixed-rate IRD penalties can be $15K–$25K when three months' interest is $5K.
- Porting keeps your old rate on the old balance only — and there's a time window. Ask the five porting questions first.
- Sell first for certainty, buy first for choice. A short bridge loan usually costs hundreds, not thousands.
- Never sign the first renewal letter. Straight switches at renewal skip the stress test now — shopping is free money.
- Your sale nets less than you think: commission + HST, penalty, and legal fees come off the top. Map the money early.
Before you download
This guide was checked in August 2026. Program rules and dollar limits change, so the sources are listed at the back of the book and the links there always beat the printed page. All the people and numbers in the examples are illustrative, not actual clients.
The rest of the library
- Keys, Please! — Buying your first home in the GTA, step by step.
- Your House, Your Backup Plan — The honest HELOC handbook: the tool, the trap, the payback plans.
- The Family Money Talk — Reverse mortgages, care costs, POAs — for adult kids and their parents.
- Money Smarts, Toronto Edition — The everyday money habits that work in Canada's priciest city.
This content is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Mortgage products are subject to lender approval (OAC). Speak with a licensed mortgage professional about your situation.