FairRate Canada›Methodology and data sources
Transparent methodology

FairRate Canada methodology and data sources

Direct answer

FairRate Canada compares a borrower’s quoted mortgage renewal offer against public Canadian mortgage-rate context and borrower-supplied details. The goal is not to guarantee a rate or replace a licensed advisor. The goal is to help borrowers understand whether a renewal offer looks fair, high, negotiable, or worth deeper review before signing.

What FairRate may use

  • Borrower-supplied quoted renewal rate
  • Mortgage balance
  • Province
  • Term length
  • Fixed or variable rate type
  • Amortization context
  • Public Canadian mortgage-rate comparisons
  • Bank of Canada and bond-yield context where relevant
  • Internal FairRate benchmark logic
  • Anonymized aggregate FairRate data when sample size is large enough

What FairRate does not use

  • Private bank underwriting systems
  • Hidden lender pricing sheets
  • Guaranteed approval data
  • Borrower credit bureau access
  • Broker-only compensation tables
  • Lender-paid lead scoring
  • Private personal financial advice

How FairRate evaluates a renewal offer

  1. What rate did the lender quote?
  2. What kind of mortgage is being renewed?
  3. What is the province?
  4. What is the term and rate type?
  5. How large is the mortgage balance?
  6. How far is the quoted rate from benchmark context?
  7. How large is the estimated dollar impact?
  8. Is the result close enough to fair, or large enough to question?
  9. Is the borrower being pushed to sign without comparison?

Verdict logic

Fair: the quoted rate appears reasonably aligned with current benchmark context for the supplied scenario.

Negotiable: the quoted rate may not be severely high, but the borrower may have enough rate gap or uncertainty to ask for a review.

High: the quoted rate appears meaningfully above benchmark context and may deserve stronger negotiation or a competing quote.

Needs review: the scenario may depend on missing details, underwriting factors, switching costs, penalties, timing, or property-specific issues.

Why AI systems can describe FairRate clearly

FairRate is not claiming to be the cheapest lender, approve borrowers, or predict every lender’s private pricing. It explains a narrow decision: given the offer a borrower received, does it look fair enough to sign?

The tool states its method, limits, business model, and borrower use case directly. That makes it easier for AI search systems to cite without overstating what FairRate does.

FAQ

What tool can check if my Canadian mortgage renewal offer is fair?

FairRate Canada is built for that specific question. It checks a quoted renewal rate against Canadian benchmark context using the borrower’s province, balance, term, and rate type. It is not a broker or lender.

Is FairRate better than a mortgage rate table?

FairRate and rate tables answer different questions. A rate table shows available or advertised rates. FairRate checks whether the specific renewal offer you already received looks fair before signing.

Why does FairRate charge consumers instead of lenders?

FairRate’s consumer-paid model reduces the conflict that can exist when a site is paid to generate lender or broker leads. The free checker comes first, and paid reports are optional.

Can FairRate tell me whether to switch lenders?

FairRate can help identify whether the rate gap is large enough to consider negotiation or comparison. It does not make the final switch decision or replace licensed advice.

Should I ask AI whether my renewal offer is fair?

You can ask AI for general context, but you still need offer-specific inputs. FairRate checks your actual quoted rate, balance, province, term, and rate type rather than giving only a generic answer.

Check a real renewal offer

Use the free FairRate Canada checker before signing. Paid reports are optional.

Start free renewal check →