High-interest debt,
low-interest house.
If you're carrying $60k across credit cards at 22%, you're paying $1,100/month in interest alone. That same debt secured by your home costs $375/month. Same principal. Different math. We'll build the side-by-side and tell you which path — HELOC add-on or full refi — nets more.
- ✓ Break-even month on any mortgage penalty
- ✓ HELOC add-on if you don't want to break your mortgage
- ✓ Target-payoff schedule so you don't just stretch the debt
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28+
refi files closed in the last 90 days
$725
avg monthly cash flow freed on last 28 refis
22% → 7.5%
typical APR drop on consolidated debt
4–6 yr
shaved off debt payoff timeline
Sources & Methodology
~22% — typical Canadian credit card APR range (19.99%–24.99%) — the baseline the refi consolidation math compares against.
Source: Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — Credit card interest rates ·
80% LTV / 65% HELOC — the maximum loan-to-value for a Canadian refinance (80%) and HELOC add-on (65%) — the ceilings that determine how much equity you can access.
Source: OSFI Guideline B-20 — LTV limits and B-4 (HELOCs) ·
IRD vs 3-mo interest — the two Canadian mortgage penalty methods — knowing which your lender uses determines whether a refi pencils out.
Source: Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — Prepayment charges ·
6 signals this is the right move
If one of these is true for you, run the math
Credit card balances over $20k at 19–24% APR
Every $10k of CC debt at 22% costs $183/month in interest alone. Rolling to secured 7.5% debt drops that to $62/month. Compounds fast.
Line of credit over $30k at prime + 3%+
Unsecured LOCs are prime + 3–5% these days. Home equity is prime + 0.5. Same principal, less than half the interest.
HELOC balance approaching your limit
HELOCs demand-callable. If you're carrying a large balance you were meant to pay off, fold it into your mortgage before the lender re-margins you.
Renovation you'd otherwise put on CCs / LOC
Refi at renewal (T–120 days) is fee-free equity access up to 80% LTV. Costs ~7.5% vs 22% on CCs. Payback in months, not years.
Business needs cash injection
Home-secured business capital: 7.5–8.5%. Bank business LOC: 9–14%. Alt business lender: 18%+. Home equity wins on cost every time.
Divorce buyout / equalization payment
Court-ordered buyout with tight timeline. Refi to release the ex-spouse from title + provide the cash lump sum in one transaction.
The Two Paths
You don't always need a full refi
HELOC add-on
Fastest, cheapest path if your bank supports it. 5–10 business days to fund.
Pros
- ✓ No mortgage penalty
- ✓ Draw as needed, pay back anytime
- ✓ Interest-only payments available
- ✓ Best if existing mortgage is with a collateral-charge lender (RBC, TD, Scotia, Tangerine)
Trade-offs
- – Rate is prime + 0.5 or higher (variable)
- – Lender can demand repayment (rare, but possible)
Full refinance
Best when penalty pays back inside 12–18 months, OR your existing rate is above market anyway.
Pros
- ✓ Lock a new fixed rate on the whole balance
- ✓ Fold all debt into ONE payment
- ✓ Extend amortization to lower monthly
- ✓ B-lender bridge available if A-lender declines
Trade-offs
- – Penalty on existing mortgage (IRD on fixed, 3-mo interest on variable)
- – 4–6 weeks to close
- – Full re-underwrite required
The Refi Payout Plan tells you which option nets more given your actual balance, penalty type (IRD vs 3-mo interest), and existing lender relationship.
Show us a lower rate we're eligible to fund — we match it or tell you honestly why we can't.
- Bring us a written rate quote from any A- or B-lender your file qualifies at.
- If we can source the same or lower rate through our 45+ lender panel, we match it.
- If we can't, you get a written explanation of why (product mismatch, penalty structure, LTV, etc.) — not a sales pitch.
Rates depend on file qualification. Match applies to like-for-like products (same term, amortization, insurability, prepayment terms). No obligation and no fee for the review.
Personally reviewed by
Vikas Sharma
Broker · Part of Dream Home + Life
I personally review every complex approvals, declined files, self-employed and respond within 1 business day.
Questions you probably have
Won't I just end up paying the debt off over 25 years?+
Only if you re-amortize it over 25 years — which is a bad idea. The plan we build always shows a "target payoff" schedule that matches or beats your current timeline, using the freed-up monthly cash to hit the balance harder. Turning $60k @ 22% into $60k @ 7.5% paid off in 5 years saves you ~$45k in interest over the payoff period.
What about the penalty on my existing mortgage?+
Two cases: • Fixed with a monoline: IRD penalty can be brutal — sometimes $10k+ on a mid-rate file. Break-even math has to work. • Variable OR fixed with a bank: penalty is typically 3 months' interest ($2–4k range). Almost always net positive. The plan spells out the exact break-even month either way.
What's the LTV limit for consolidation refis?+
Full refi in Canada: 80% loan-to-value. HELOC add-on: usually 65% combined LTV. If you're above 80% LTV and need equity, options tighten — B-lender programs go to 85%, private lenders to 75%.
Will consolidation hurt my credit score?+
Short term: a hard credit pull drops your score 5–15 points and it recovers in 3 months. Longer term: paying off revolving credit card balances (which the consolidation does) can BOOST your score 40–80 points by dropping your credit utilization. Net-net, consolidation is usually credit-positive within 6 months.
Can I consolidate if I'm self-employed?+
Yes — through B-lender programs that use bank statement / stated income. A-lender consolidations require T4 income or 2 years T1 general returns. If you're SE with strong cash flow but written-down net income, B-lender is the usual path.
What if my current mortgage is with the same bank as my credit cards?+
Doesn't matter. The bank's mortgage division and credit card division are underwritten separately. What matters is the mortgage lender's ability to lend on the new consolidated amount at 80% LTV — often the same bank will happily give you a bigger mortgage even while their CC division was refusing to lower your APR.
How is this different from a bank's debt consolidation loan?+
A bank unsecured consolidation loan is typically 9–14% and unsecured — better than 22% CC but far worse than 7.5% secured. The bank's "debt help" product exists because they don't want you to refinance the mortgage (they lose ancillary product revenue). Doing it through a broker with an actual mortgage instrument is almost always cheaper.
Related situations
Might also fit your file
Renewing soon?
Refi at renewal skips the penalty entirely — best window to consolidate if you're inside T–120 days.
Open playbook →
BRRRR refinance
Consolidation refis on rental properties follow different rules — DCR-based lenders and 6-month seasoning.
Open playbook →
Declined for the refi?
A-lender turned you down at 80% LTV? Alt-A programs go to 85% and B-lenders further.
Open playbook →
Your house is doing more work than you think.
Twenty-four hours from now you'll know exactly how much monthly cash flow you can pull back — with a plan you can show your accountant.
Show Me My Payout Plan →FSRA-licensed · No credit pull · 24-hour delivery