Short answer
Possibly, but a portable mortgage is not a guaranteed transfer. Your current lender normally has to approve you again, approve the new property and complete both transactions inside its permitted timing window. If any part fails, the mortgage may be paid out and the contract penalty may apply.
Why this becomes a closing problem
You sold your home believing the mortgage would move with you. Then the lender asks for updated income, a new appraisal or a closing-date change. The client discovers too late that ‘portable’ described a feature, not an unconditional approval.
A practical example
Assume you have $420,000 remaining at an attractive fixed rate and buy another home. The lender may let you move that balance to the new property, but it will still review your current employment, credit, debts, sale agreement, purchase agreement and new property. A job change or unacceptable property can stop the port even though every payment on the old mortgage was made on time.
How the lending routes may differ
- A lender: often the best starting point when the existing contract is portable and the borrower and property still meet policy.
- Alternative/B lender: may help if income or credit no longer fits the existing A lender, but moving away can trigger the old lender’s penalty.
- MIC or private lender: may cover a short closing or qualification gap when equity and a credible exit exist; it does not preserve the old contract automatically.
Policy boundary: Porting, bridge periods, qualification, fees and property acceptance are lender and contract decisions. A regulator’s consumer information does not require every lender to approve the same structure.
Questions to ask before committing
- Is my exact mortgage product portable?
- How many days may pass between the sale and purchase closings?
- Will the lender refund a penalty after the port completes, and by what deadline?
- Do I need a new appraisal and full income qualification?
Rajiv’s practical view
Request the lender’s written porting conditions before making a firm purchase commitment. Compare the port with a complete outside-lender option, including the penalty and all fees.
Before making a firm offer or changing closing dates, confirm the full structure in writing. A pre-approval or verbal discussion is not the same as final approval of the borrower, property, sale, bridge amount and lawyer instructions.
Continue your research
Review renewal and switching guidance · Review closing-problem guidance · Explore the Mortgage Knowledge Centre
Moving dates or mortgage terms do not line up?
Share your sale date, purchase date, existing mortgage balance and the problem you are trying to avoid. Rajiv can compare the current lender’s port with A, alternative/B, MIC or private options where appropriate.
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Rajiv Verma, Mortgage Broker · Ontario