Mortgage Strategies

The simplest, lowest-risk play. A monthly payment, divided in half, paid every two weeks. Three to five years off a typical Ontario mortgage with no rate change, no product change, and a single phone call.

The foundation product behind almost every advanced strategy on this site. Without it, every move requires fresh paperwork. With it, the borrowing capacity grows quietly in the background as principal pays down.

Convert non-deductible mortgage interest into tax-deductible investment-loan interest using a readvanceable mortgage. Most homeowners have never seen it modelled on their own numbers. Rewards setup, not ambition.

Route rental income through your personal mortgage and borrow back via HELOC to pay rental expenses. Same dollars, different routes, completely different tax outcome. Tracing is the whole game.

Stretch the rental amortization, take the freed cash flow, aim it at the personal mortgage. Trade a non-deductible dollar for a deductible one without changing your monthly outflow. Quiet, durable.

Already own non-registered investments and still carry a non-deductible primary mortgage? Most people in that situation are sitting on the strategy without knowing it. Same net worth, better tax structure.

The strategy with the loudest marketing and the smallest actual edge. Worth understanding because clients ask about it constantly, and they deserve a straight answer instead of a sales pitch.

One account that does the job of chequing, savings, and a mortgage all at once. Powerful for the right file, oversold for everyone else. The break-even math is brutal if idle balances are small.

Roll high-interest consumer debt into the mortgage at a much lower blended rate. A powerful move that fails more often than it should, almost always for the same behavioural reason.

Two ways to fund a child's education: maxed-out RESP, or a small rental property held to age 18. The math is closer than most people expect, and the trade-offs run in different directions depending on family situation.