[asdf33323]

"The notion of fixed rate mortgages does not exist in Canada."

...

"You can lock in for about 5 years"

what?

[dzdt]

In the US, the most standard "fixed rate" mortgage has the rate fixed for 30 years. A mortgage where the rate changes before loan maturity would be called an "adjustable rate mortgage" ("arm" for short).

[peeters]

Aren't we only talking about a difference in term length then? i.e. it's more common for the term length to equal the amortization length in the U.S.? In Canada even the amortization/maturity can't be greater than 25 years. And terms are commonly 5 years.

[emodendroket]

We can quibble about terminology but it sounds like a system wildly different from the US one, where most people have 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages.

[rconti]

Mortgages are typically longer than 5 years.

[tostitos1979]

Exactly. In a US 30 year mortgage, it is reasonable to expect a borrower to pay it off. In a 5 year mortgage, you will typically refinance after 5 years (unless you hit the jackpot in the interim).

[sliverstorm]

That sounds obnoxious, being forced to refinance 5 times. Why not a 30 year 5/5 ARM? (Rate adjusts every 5 years to market rate)