Real estate law · Refinance
A refinance is a quieter file than a purchase or a sale, but it has its own choreography: discharge of the old mortgage, registration of the new one, statement of adjustments, payout. We act for borrowers and (on private lending files) for lenders on refinances across Metro Vancouver.
Specialised situations
How a refinance runs
Your new lender sends us mortgage instructions: the loan amount, the interest rate, the term, the security required, the conditions of advance. We confirm we can meet them and open the file.
We pull current title, identify all charges to be discharged, and request payout statements from each existing lender. The payouts give us the precise amount each lender needs at closing.
We prepare the new mortgage registration documents, the discharge instructions for the old lender(s), and the statement of adjustments showing your net position.
A few days before advance, you sign the mortgage, statutory declarations, and trust conditions. Most signings are by electronic signing or video; some lenders require in-person identification.
On the advance day, we receive funds from your new lender, pay out the existing lender(s), register the new mortgage and the discharge of the old, and remit any net advance to you.
Frequently asked
We act for the borrower (sometimes the lender too, in private lending) on a refinance. The work: pulling current title, getting payout statements from the existing lender(s), preparing the discharge documents and the new mortgage registration, taking the new lender's instructions, preparing the statement of adjustments, signing with you, registering the new mortgage and the discharge of the old, paying out the existing lender, and remitting any net advance to you.
Our flat fee for a refinance with one payout is $1,500. Each additional payout (a second mortgage, a HELOC, a line of credit) adds $100. Above $2 million or on First Nations Lands, we quote on the file.
From the day we have your new lender's instructions and the existing lender's payout statement, a standard refinance closes in 3 to 7 business days. Title search, document preparation, and signing take a few days; the closing itself is one transaction. If your timeline is shorter, call us — we work case by case.
Probably, on a fixed-rate mortgage. Most BC fixed-rate mortgages calculate the penalty as the greater of three months' interest or the interest rate differential (IRD). Variable-rate mortgages typically have a smaller three-months-interest penalty. The exact amount comes from your lender's payout statement. If the penalty is materially larger than expected, talk to your broker before closing — sometimes a port-and-extend or a different refinancing structure reduces the cost.
Yes, subject to your lender's underwriting. A cash-out refinance lets you borrow up to a percentage of the property's value (typically 80% for an A-lender refinance) and take the difference as cash. The proceeds can be used for any purpose — home improvements, debt consolidation, investment. The new mortgage replaces the old, and you receive the net advance after the existing mortgage is paid out and our fee and any third-party costs are deducted.
Send us your new lender's commitment and your existing mortgage details. We'll come back with a flat-fee quote and a clean closing plan.