Homes for Sale in Ottawa

What is a mortgage?

Since most people don’t have the cash available for a home, a mortgage is a loan that can help cover the balance. When you take out a mortgage you agree to pay back the sum at an agreed interest rate.

Buying your first home

Flexible payment options can help your dreams come true.

Your next property

Plan for retirement with a mortgage that can change with you.

Refinancing your home

Help free up money for renovations or other investments.

DreamiHome Mortgage Payment Calculator

What kinds of mortgages are available?

There are 4 basic types of mortgages available with Canada Life. Each has unique features designed to help meet different needs.


Fixed-rate mortgage
Variable-rate mortgage
Lock and roll mortgage
Adjustable-rate mortgage

Main features

Set interest rate

Fixed payments

Fixed term and changing interest rate

Same payment for the length of the term

Can be converted to another term with Canada Life at any time

Interest rates and payments automatically adjust every 6 months

Interest rates and payments automatically adjust every month

Minimize your monthly payment

Differences

Protected from rising interest rates

Fixed payments

Benefit from decreasing rates

The portion of the payment amount that goes towards principal versus interest will change as our prime rate changes

Rate is locked in every 6 months

Best of both worlds

Combines the benefits of a long-term mortgage (5 years) with the benefits of a short-term mortgage rate

Rate is adjusted every month

Take advantage of changing interest rates

Payment options

Accelerated weekly

Accelerated bi-weekly

Semi-monthly

Monthly

 

Accelerated weekly

Accelerated bi-weekly

Semi-monthly

Monthly

Accelerated weekly

Accelerated bi-weekly

Semi-monthly

Monthly

Accelerated weekly

Accelerated bi-weekly

Semi-monthly

Monthly

Mortgage term

Flexible options up to 10 years

5 years

5 years

5 years

Ideal if

You think interest rates will increase over time

You like the idea of having predictable payments   

You want to take advantage of changing interest rates, but want a fixed payment amount for the entire term of the mortgage

You want a long-term mortgage with the ability to take advantage of short-term rates

You’re comfortable with the possibility of semi-annual payment adjustments over the term

You want the lowest available mortgage payment

You’re comfortable with your monthly payments changing over the term   

Talk to an advisor
Talk to an advisor
Talk to an advisor
Talk to an advisor

How much can you qualify for?

Your mortgage is determined by a formula that includes these factors:

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019

Household annual income

Includes your household’s gross annual income.

Monthly expenses

Includes heat, property taxes and monthly maintenance fees.

Debts

Includes car payments, personal loans and credit card balances.

Down payment

Money saved for your initial payment on the cost of your home.

Qualifying interest rates

You must pass the stress test, along with meeting other criteria.

How much can you afford?

Try our mortgage affordability calculator to determine your maximum home purchase price.

Mortgage basics

Before we dive deeper into the world of mortgages, let’s go over a few of the key concepts to help you make informed decisions.

Open mortgage

An open mortgage can be repaid in part or full at any time without having to pay a penalty. Because of this flexibility, open mortgage rates tend to be higher than the rates available through closed mortgages. It’s ideal if you’re confident you can pay off your mortgage in the near term.

Closed mortgage

Choosing a closed mortgage means you’re essentially saying that you have no plans to pay off your mortgage in full, or more than prepayment privileges will allow during your mortgage term. A closed mortgage will offer a lower interest rate than an open mortgage, giving you the opportunity to pay less in interest.

Down payment

Your down payment is the amount of upfront money that you put towards the purchase of a home. A larger down payment could mean having a more manageable mortgage. The minimum down payment is 5% but if you can put down 20% or more, you’ll qualify for a conventional mortgage and avoid paying mortgage insurance.

Amortization period

The amortization period, up to 25 years with Canada Life™, is the length of time available to you to pay off your mortgage. Longer amortization periods mean lower payments, but they increase the total amount of interest you pay. A shorter amortization period will lead to big interest savings. Plus, you could become mortgage-free sooner.

Mortgage term

The mortgage term is the length of time you commit to a particular type of mortgage. It can range from 6 months to 10 years. You may want to choose a longer-term mortgage when interest rates are low to keep your payments the same. A shorter-term strategy works best if interest rates are either high or falling, so you can renew at a lower rate.

Payment options

Choose monthly, semi-monthly, accelerated bi-weekly or accelerated weekly payments with Canada Life mortgages. Accelerated payments will save you interest over the length of your mortgage, and could mean you’ll be mortgage-free sooner. Also, our prepayment privileges allow you to make lump sum payments towards your principal to build equity in your home faster and substantially reduce interest.

What’s the best payment for you?

Use our mortgage payment calculator to discover which options work best for you.

Want to pay off some or all of your mortgage?

If you have an open mortgage, you can prepay a large amount of your mortgage or renegotiate to take advantage of lower interest rates at any time. It gets a little more complicated if you have a closed mortgage.

Prepayment privileges

Your closed mortgage allows you to pay down 15% of your outstanding principal balance each year, without a prepayment charge.

Making a larger prepayment

You can pay down more than 15% but there’s a charge because you are paying off your mortgage faster than your original contract specified.

Compare listings

Compare