My Mortgage Renewal – Part 1

As I’ve mentioned since the beginning of the year, our mortgage was up for renewal November 1st.  Well that date has come and gone, so you might be wondering what happened?

Way back in February I put together a plan of 17 steps to follow in preparation of everything that I thought we’d need and want to do before the renewal.  We didn’t exactly follow the plan, but we did do quite a bit…

1. Discuss the plan with my husband.
   I’m not totally sure that I actually shared the full plan with him at any point, but we did discuss all the things we wanted to do as preparation for the renewal.  So… Done!
2. Research Bank Accounts.
   I did do some research for bank accounts, and posted about it… so… Done!
3. Ask Current Bank About Cancellation Fees.
   Yeah, I never really did that… And it didn’t really matter because we waited until the end to get our new mortgage, so we didn’t need to worry about the cancellation fees… Not Done, but OK.
4. Ask Current Bank About Property Tax Account
   I asked my current bank and they informed me that whatever cash is left in that fund would be rolled in to the payout amount, and that my new mortgage would have to start from scratch if we choose to go with the same set up.  So… Done!
5. Research Advertised Mortgage Rates at Some of the Major Banks
   Thanks to Jordann at My Alternate Life, I learned about RateHub.ca and did quite a bit of research through them to figure out what the going rates were.  Another one Done!
6. Visit 2-3 Banks/Brokers to Discuss Options for Mortgages
   We talked to a couple banks, and a broker, and ended up going with the broker in the end.  He was able to get us a much better deal.  Done!
7. Learn About Adding Names to the Property Deed
   I learned enough to know that we needed a lawyer, but because we were doing a re-finance option at the same time, the lawyer was going to be needed anyway.  Done!
8. Meet with my Husband’s Financial Adviser
   We met.  We discussed our current situation and our plan.  Not super exciting… Just keep going the way we are going… but Done!
9. Decide On and Open a New Bank Account
   Well, I have a new chequing account, like I already posted about, but we didn’t get a new joint account yet… So, Half Done?
10. Link New Account to Tangerine Savings Accounts
    Well, my new account is a Tangerine account, so that’s already there… So, can I call that done?  Or is it not done because I don’t actually have a new account external to Tangerine?  Hmmm… I’ll go with Half Done again…
11. Learn about Options Regarding Property Tax Payment
    I did some reading about this, and discussed the possibilities of what is available, but we decided to keep it lumped in with our mortgage, it’s just easier that way.  Done!
12. Get our Credit Reports
    I posted about this one too.  And yes, both my husband and I got our credit reports.  Unfortunately, I think the dog got to one of my husband’s and it got a little chewed… But, we got it, so… Done!
13. Transfer Money to New Account, Move Automatic Deposits and Withdrawals to New Account, and Close Up the Old Account
    I’m still in the process of moving my automatic deposits and withdrawals to my Tangerine account, but I’m almost there… Should be done soon if I get my act together.  Then I can finish up moving money and closing accounts.  Half Done.
14. Decide On Mortgage Provider and Transfer Mortgage to New Provider
    Well, I think you’ve already figured out that this has been completed by now.  Done!
15. Tell the Insurance Company about the Change
    We filed those papers right away too.  Done!
16. Get any Legal Documents Updated that are Required
    And all the legal documents were updated.  Though I think technically we are still waiting for one paper to be fully updated, but apparently that can take a little while going through the bureaucracy of the system.  In any case… Done!
17. Update YNAB with New Account(s)
    And last, but definitely not least in my own mind (my YNAB nerdy enjoyment) I have updated YNAB with my new accounts so far, but will need to make further changes eventually… for now, this is Done!

So, 13/17 are done, 1/17 wasn’t done, but isn’t required anymore, and 3/17 are partially done or in the works.  That’s pretty good for me.  I’m going to call my Goal #6 for 2016 completed.

But, I bet you wanted more details about what we decided to do, who we went with and all that fun detailed stuff, right?  Okay, I will definitely tell you everything, but this post is really long, so I’ll split it up and post about that next time.  Sorry!

Random side question:  Have you checked in on your goals for 2016?  Have you marked most of them off as completed already?  Or will it be a mad scramble for the next few weeks to get some done before the end of 2016?

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