Are there any disadvantages to paying off your mortgage? Can you always just get another mortgage later on, or doesn’t it work that way? This is in Canada, where mortgage interest is not tax deductible.

#PersonalFinance

  • paddythegeek
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    1 year ago

    I’m not aware of any. Unless it places you under undue strain financially to do so, the sooner you pay off your mortgage the sooner you have that amount per month available to you for other things. At worst, keep placing the same amount in a TFSA or investment fund.

    Iirc, some mortgages used to have (maybe still do) a maximum payment clause, limiting you to the amount you could repay per year without additional fees. That’s a protective measure for the lender to ensure they receive due compensation for the service of loaning you the money. (Imagine if you paid off your 25-year mortgage in the first 2 years. The bank set up that mortgage expecting you to be repaying for at least 10 to 15 years based on averages, so that’s a lot of interest payments lost for them.)

    You can always secure future loans against the equity in your property, and the more equity you have, the safer a bet you are from the lender’s perspective.

    I am useless at the tax stuff so no comment there. I’d recommend you speak to a certified financial adviser. There can be a lot of benefits to connecting with one and sticking with them through your life. They can advise on a very broad range of topics and help with decisions like this, in my experience.

    Good luck with it!