When you buy a home and take out a mortgage, you need to make regular mortgage payments. Libro offers a variety of mortgage payment options, and your choice depends on your unique mortgage goals. In Canada, there are five different mortgage payment options: weekly, accelerated weekly, bi-weekly, accelerated bi-weekly, semi-monthly, and monthly.
You can request one of six mortgage payments to match your cash flow or payroll day:
With a weekly mortgage payment, your monthly mortgage payment is multiplied by 12 months and divided by 52 weeks of the year, resulting in 52 mortgage payments per year.
If you have an accelerated weekly mortgage payment, you still make 52 mortgage payments per year, however, the payment amount is slightly higher than weekly mortgage payment. With this payment option, your monthly mortgage amount is divided by four and paid every week.
With a bi-weekly mortgage payment, you make 26 payments a year — your monthly mortgage payment is multiplied by 12 months and divided by 26 pay periods in a year.
With an accelerated bi-weekly mortgage payment, you still make 26 mortgage payments per year, however, the payment amount is slightly higher than a regular bi-weekly payment. Your monthly mortgage payment is divided by two and the amount is paid every two weeks.
If you have a semi-monthly mortgage payments, you make payments twice a month, for example, on the 1st and 15th of each month. Semi-monthly payments are different than bi-weekly payments because if you pay on two dates per month — for example, the 1st and 15th — you make 24 annual payments. Bi-weekly payments result in 26 annual payments.
With a monthly mortgage payment, you make 12 payments each year — the payment is withdrawn from your bank account on the same day of every month, for example, the 1st or last day of each month.
The benefit of selecting an accelerated payment vs. a regular payment is that you end up making the equivalent of 1 extra monthly mortgage payment per year. This extra payment goes directly to the principal of your mortgage and helps reduce your overall amortization period for the mortgage.
Let’s compare a regular Monthly or Weekly mortgage payment to an Accelerated Weekly mortgage payment option:
| Regular Monthly Payment | Weekly Mortgage Payment | Accelerated Weekly Mortgage Payment | |
| Mortgage Payment Amount | $1,000 | $230.76 ($12,000 / 52 weeks) |
$250.00 ($1,000 / 4 weeks) |
| Total Annual Mortgage Payments | $12,000 | $13,000 |
Want to be mortgage free sooner? Here’s some other mortgage payment options available:
*Since scenarios vary by individual, please talk to a Libro Coach to talk about your specific home buying goal. For example, if you are planning to downsize into a smaller home this would mean carrying a smaller mortgage amount. A downsizing decision might include different mortgage transfer arrangements and costs.
Your Libro Coach can help explain the various mortgage payment options available to you. This decision should be based on your current financial situation, including your income, expenses, and other factors.
To lower your monthly mortgage payments, you can make a larger down payment or choose a lower mortgage rate. Additionally, you can extend your amortization period. However, if your down payment amount is less than 20% of the purchase price of your home, the maximum amortization period is 25 years. Use Libro’s mortgage calculator to see what your payment would be in different scenarios.
If you have been thinking of buying your first home and looking at different properties, you might be wondering “How much can I afford?” A Libro Coach helps you answer this question and many more! An important part of this conversation is the amount you are planning to use as a down payment for your home purchase. The higher the amount of the down payment, the faster you are be able to achieve mortgage-free prosperity.
Here are three things to consider about mortgage down payments. Talk them over with your Libro Coach to see how they apply to your plans to own a home.
Did you know that you can use RRSP dollars to add to your mortgage down payment total? You can access your RRSPs tax-free if you participate in Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) Home Buyer’s Plan. You may be eligible to withdraw up to $25,000 from your RRSP. Your spouse or partner can also make a maximum withdrawal from their RRSP plan. Combined, you could have $50,000 ready for your first home!
The HBP, which allows first-time buyers to withdraw money tax-free from their RRSPs towards a down payment on a home purchase, was increased from $25,000 to $35,000. ($70,000 per couple.)
Take advantage of Ontario’s land transfer tax refund program. First time home buyers may be eligible for a maximum refund up to $4,000 of the land transfer tax paid on their home purchase. For more information, visit the Ontario Ministry of Finance site.
If you are a permanent Canadian resident, you can make a minimum 5% down payment of the home purchase price. If you have less than 20% of your future cost price to use for your down payment, you need to purchase mortgage insurance. To find out more about costs and conditions, please visit the mortgage provider sites: Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and Genworth Canada.
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