Before we talk about rates, let's look at your month.
A Cash Flow Review is me sitting down with everything you're actually paying — the mortgage, the cards, the line of credit, the car — and showing you what your options would do to your monthly number. It's free, it takes about half an hour, and there's no application at the end of it unless you want one.
Most mortgage conversations start with a rate and work backwards.
This one starts with your month. I want to see the whole picture — not just the mortgage, but the credit cards, the lines of credit, the car payment, the things that are quietly taking up room every month.
Then I'll show you what your options look like side by side, in monthly dollars, so you can see what each one frees up and what it costs you.
That's it. It's a conversation about your numbers, not a pitch.
And what it isn't
- ✕ Not a sales call. If the answer is that you're already in the right spot, I'll tell you so, and that's a real answer.
- ✕ Not an application. Nothing gets submitted anywhere.
- ✕ Not a credit check behind your back. I'll only pull your credit if you ask me to and give me consent, and I'll tell you what it shows.
- ✕ Not a commitment of any kind. Plenty of people do one of these and decide to do nothing. That's fine.
Half an hour, four steps.
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STEP 01
We get on a call.
Almost all of this happens by video and phone, and it works well — we can share a screen, you can watch the numbers change as we go, and nobody has to take time off work for it. If meeting in person genuinely suits you better, say so and we'll sort something out.
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STEP 02
We go through what you're paying now.
I'll read it all back to you line by line — this card, that line of credit, the balance on each — partly so the total feels real, and partly so you can correct me where I've got it wrong. For most people this is the first time they've seen every payment added up in one place.
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STEP 03
I run your options side by side.
Usually two or three structures, not one recommendation. I'll tell you what I'd suggest and why, including when it's different from what you came in asking for. I'll also tell you what I'd leave out — not everything belongs in a consolidation.
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STEP 04
I show you the tradeoffs, then you decide.
What each option frees up per month, what it costs to get there, and what it means over the long run. Every number I'm assuming gets stated out loud, and anything provisional gets marked as provisional until I have your documents.
Your options, scored in dollars per month rather than in rate.
Because the rate is not the number you live with. The payment is. Two mortgages at the same rate can do completely different things to your month, and the one with the better rate is not always the one that leaves you more room.
Before
Six balances, four lenders
After consolidating
One mortgage, nothing else outstanding
For a lot of people the second thing matters more than the first. Managing six balances across four lenders takes up room in your head, and that goes away too.
Here's the honest tradeoff, and I'd rather you hear it from me.
When you fold short-term debt into a mortgage, you're moving it from a high rate over a few years to a low rate over a long one. Your month gets much easier. But if you make the minimum payment for the next thirty years and never touch it again, that debt can cost you more in total interest than it would have, even at the lower rate.
So the honest version is: this is a very good move if the freed-up money goes somewhere useful, and a mediocre one if it just disappears. What I usually suggest is putting some of it straight back at the mortgage as a prepayment, which most lenders allow without penalty.
Then you get the breathing room and the shorter timeline.
And the costs I'll price before you decide
- ◆The penalty to break your current mortgage, if you're mid-term
- ◆Legal fees to complete the transaction
- ◆An appraisal, sometimes, and sometimes paid up front
- ◆Lender quirks — some require you to bank with them, or hold a second product
None of these are dealbreakers on their own. They're just things you should see before you say yes, not after.
You'll probably recognize yourself in one of these.
- ✓You're carrying balances at eighteen or twenty percent and the minimums are eating your month
- ✓Your renewal is coming and you're worried about what the new payment looks like
- ✓You're self-employed and the answers you've been getting haven't matched your actual income
- ✓You're thinking about buying and you want to know what's comfortable, not what's approvable
- ✓Or you just have a feeling your mortgage could be doing more for you than it is
What to have handy
Nothing formal, and don't go digging for hours. If you don't have all of it, come anyway — estimates are fine to start and we can confirm the details later.
The things people ask before booking
Is this really free?
Yes. On standard residential mortgages the lender pays me, so my advice costs you nothing. If a file ever does involve a fee you'll know well before we go near an application.
Will this affect my credit score?
Not unless you ask me to pull your credit, and I won't do that without your consent. We can do a whole first conversation on estimates.
What if I've already got a mortgage with someone else?
That's most of the people I do these with. You don't need to be at renewal, and you don't need to be unhappy with your lender.
What if the answer is to do nothing?
Then that's the answer, and I'll say so. It happens reasonably often and it's still a useful half hour, because now you know.
How long does it take?
About thirty minutes for the conversation. If I'm building you a full comparison I'll usually send it over as a short video walkthrough afterwards so you can watch it twice and share it with your partner.
Do I have to be in London?
No. I'm based in London and licensed across Ontario, and almost all of this work happens by video and phone.
Book a Cash Flow Review
Half an hour, no fee, no application, no rush.
