Own a home? Here’s how to tackle soaring interest rates, monthly mortgage payments

More and more homeowners are feeling the financial squeeze as interest rates climb, and some mortgage professionals are predicting the Bank of Canada will raise them further this September.

“We are hearing 75 basis points to a full per cent,” Port Coquitlam-based mortgage specialist Angela Calla told Global News.

For Canadians on a fixed rate and up for mortgage renewal, it could mean serious sticker shock with higher monthly payments, she said.

“People are going from being in fixed rates of two per cent to the high fours and fives, so on $500,000-mortgage you can see a payment increase of $500 a month,” she explained.

That increase, coupled with high food and gas prices, can make the cost of living even more difficult.

Calla suggested having a mortgage strategy in place to ease the financial stress.

“Don’t wait for your renewal date. Get a rate hold in now,” she advised.

“Go to an independent professional that can review all the options because you may want to look at extending your amortization if your new payment increases are not within your budget.”

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