Mortgage Portability – How to Move Without Breaking Your Mortgage

Buying a home is a major financial commitment, and securing a great mortgage rate can feel like locking in a golden ticket—until life throws you a curveball and you need to move. Maybe you’ve outgrown your space, landed a new job, or found your dream home, but there’s just one problem:

You’re locked into a mortgage term, and breaking it could cost you thousands of dollars in penalties.

The good news? Mortgage portability allows you to move homes without breaking your mortgage—potentially saving you a fortune in penalties while keeping your low-interest rate intact.

In this guide, we’ll cover:
✔️ How mortgage portability works and when to use it
✔️ The benefits of transferring your mortgage to a new property
✔️ How to avoid penalties when moving homes

If you’re planning to move but don’t want to give up your current mortgage, read on.

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How Mortgage Portability Works and When to Use It

What Is Mortgage Portability?

Mortgage portability allows you to transfer your existing mortgage from your current home to a new home without breaking your mortgage contract. Instead of starting from scratch, you can:

✔️ Keep your existing mortgage rate and terms
✔️ Avoid prepayment penalties (which can be thousands of dollars)
✔️ Make up any price difference by "blending and extending" your mortgage

Portability is an option that most fixed-rate mortgages offer, but not all lenders allow it on variable-rate mortgages—so checking with your lender is crucial before making any decisions.

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When Should You Use Mortgage Portability?

✔️ You Have a Low Interest Rate – If you locked in a great mortgage rate but rates have since gone up, porting your mortgage allows you to keep your lower rate.

✔️ You Want to Avoid a Breakage Penalty – Breaking a mortgage early can result in a prepayment penalty of thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars. Porting your mortgage helps you avoid this cost.

✔️ Your New Home Qualifies for Your Existing Mortgage – Lenders will still need to approve your new property, and your financial situation must remain strong to qualify for the port.

✔️ You’re Not Changing Lenders – Mortgage portability is not an option if you want to switch banks—it only applies if you stay with your current lender.

✔️ The Move Happens Quickly – Many lenders require you to close on your new home within 30-90 days of selling your old one to qualify for porting.

Example:
Jake and Sarah locked in a 5-year fixed mortgage at 2.89% two years ago, but now they need to move for work. Mortgage rates have since jumped to 5.5%, and breaking their current mortgage would cost them $12,000 in penalties.

By porting their mortgage, they can keep their low rate, avoid the penalty, and only need to take out additional financing if their new home is more expensive.