CIBC mortgage review

As one of the largest financial institutions in Canada, CIBC offers a wealth of banking services, including flexible mortgage options. On top of the standard mortgage offerings, CIBC takes it a step further and offers mortgage bundle packages where you can combine your mortgage with a home equity line of credit, giving you greater financial flexibility.

When it comes to CIBC‘s mortgage plans, it offers flexible fixed and variable options at competitive rates. Its cash back program provides further incentive to customers as it can act as an indirect way to lower fees.

What are CIBC mortgage rates and terms?

CIBC offers standard fixed and variable rate mortgage plans at affordable rates. These rates are made more attractive through CIBC‘s special rates. Also, from time to time, it puts out special mortgage offers that offer some sort of monetary incentive to join (i.e. cashback, bundle, etc). The following are a few of the more common mortgage plans and terms: a 5-year fixed rate closed term, (which also features a special rate), a 7-year fixed rate closed term, a 3-year variable rate flex term and a 5-year variable rate flex term.

What makes CIBC unique?

By far, the thing that makes CIBC unique when it comes to its mortgage plans is the ability to offer customers cashback rewards for signing up for a mortgage. By signing up for a fixed rate closed mortgage or a variable flex rate mortgage plan with CIBC, you’ll be entitled to receive significant cash back rewards. This can be used to further pay down your mortgage or you can keep the cash.

Another unique feature from CIBC is its bundle offer. In getting a mortgage with CIBC, you can enroll in its CIBC Home Power Plan Line of Credit program, which combines your mortgage and a CIBC line of credit. This will give you a convenient way to quickly access cash and comes with a low introductory mortgage rate.

Do I qualify for a loan with CIBC?

To find out if you qualify for a loan with CIBC, you can start the pre-approval process on CIBC‘s website. In order to proceed with this pre-approval form, you must be the age of majority in the province where you live (18 or 19 years of age).

When completing the form, CIBC will ask you for standard personal information as well as information pertaining to the down payment you intend to put down, your gross annual income, and whether you’ve declared bankruptcy in the past seven years. Once you’ve filled out the form, a CIBC mortgage specialist will reach out to you within one to three business days to discuss your pre-approval application and your particular mortgage needs. It is at this time that you’ll know if you qualify for a loan with CIBC; however, the mortgage specialist may request additional information (banking and employment history) before informing you of their decision.

What are the benefits of getting a mortgage through CIBC?

• Competitive rates. CIBC offers industry competitive mortgage rates that are more attractive with its special rates on select mortgage plans.
• Cash back incentives. Receiving cash back bonuses for having a select CIBC mortgage plan enables people to either help pay down their mortgage quicker or they can save it instead.
• Reputation. CIBC is one of the Big Five banks in Canada and has a great reputation, especially in its mortgage department, as evidenced by the number of positive customer reviews online.
• Variety of plans. CIBC tries to accommodate mortgage seekers of different needs by offering a variety of flexible mortgage plans.
• Bundles. Offering a mortgage and line of credit bundle is a win-win scenario for CIBC and the customer.
• Accessibility. As one of the largest banks in Canada, CIBC has branch locations scattered all throughout Canada where you can simply visit one to discuss your mortgage needs.
• Customer service. CIBC‘s customer service can be contacted in a number of different ways to discuss mortgage options, including having a mortgage specialist visit you at your home or office (or anywhere else). They are also available on the phone at all hours of the day.

What to watch out for

• Pre-approval process. After filling in the pre-approval application, it will take one to three days to receive your results.
• Time consuming. Oftentimes, inquiring for more information about CIBC mortgages can be more time-consuming than productive as the primary focus of mortgage specialists is on establishing rapport with prospective customers by wanting to either meet in person or speak over the phone about your mortgage needs.
• Credit score. CIBC customers will benefit from a free credit score. However, if you’re not a CIBC customer and want to inquire about a mortgage, you may have to independently pay for your own credit check.

How do I get started?

If you’ve decided you want to proceed with a particular CIBC mortgage plan, there are a few ways you can get started.

First, you can get the pre-approval process started by providing pertinent personal information and your stated reasons for seeking a mortgage (pre-approval or actual mortgage application). You’ll then receive a call back within one to three business days from a CIBC mortgage specialist where they may request more information if they deem it necessary.

Second, you can also request a meeting with a CIBC mortgage specialist. You can schedule an in-person meeting at your nearest CIBC branch to go over your mortgage needs or you can search on CIBC‘s website for the nearest CIBC mortgage specialist where you live. If you’re too busy to go and meet in person with a CIBC representative, you can also request a call from a CIBC mortgage specialist to discuss your mortgage needs.

I got the loan. Now what?

If you’ve been approved for a mortgage with CIBC, you’ll then want to speak with a CIBC mortgage specialist to thoroughly go over your mortgage plan so that you are entirely clear with it. You’ll want to specifically clarify how much your mortgage payments will be and at what frequency. It’s also during this conversation where you’ll want to ask them any other questions regarding paying off your mortgage including seeing if you can pay it down faster or if there will be any penalty charges for attempting to pay it off sooner.

Compare other mortgage lenders

1 - 2 of 2

Name	Product	Interest Rate (APR)	Loan Term	Min. credit score	Provincial availability
Homewise Mortgages Homewise Mortgages		Varies	Varies	600 (recommended)	AB, BC, MB, NB, NL, NS, ON, SK	Homewise's personal advisors can get you mortgage rates from over 30 banks and lenders.	Go to siteMore Info Compare	loading Fetching your data...
BMO Mortgages BMO Mortgages		5.31%	5 Year Fixed Rate	600	All of Canada	Get up to $4,100 in cashback. Offer ends September 4, 2024.	Go to siteMore Info Compare	loading Fetching your data...

loading

Bottom line

With flexible mortgage plans at competitive rates with the added incentive of receiving cash back rewards, CIBC offers Canadians plenty of attractive reasons to sign up for its mortgage plans.

Frequently asked questions

• Can I renew my mortgage before my term is up?

  It depends on the mortgage type you’ve selected since you may have to pay a prepayment charge.

• Can I change my mortgage payment frequency?

  In most cases, yes, you can change your payment frequency. However, you may have to pay an interest adjustment amount for the period between your last payment and the next one.

• How will I know it's time to renew my CIBC mortgage?

  Roughly 30 days before your mortgage term is set to expire, you’ll receive a renewal package detailing CIBC‘s latest mortgage products and terms and other suitable options.

• What's the difference between my mortgage amortization and my mortgage term?

  The amortization period refers to the estimated number of years it will take you to pay off your mortgage and is often reflected in periods of 5 years (i.e. 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25 years). Your mortgage term is the current contract to pay your mortgage under the terms you’ve negotiated. After this term has expired, the interest rate can be renegotiated.

• What's the difference between an open mortgage and a closed mortgage?

  With an open mortgage, you can partially or fully repay your mortgage without charge. Open mortgages come attached with a higher interest rate but are more flexible for the customer. Closed mortgages allow you to repay your mortgage ahead of schedule but it comes with a penalty. Closed mortgages have a lower interest rate and are designed to give customers a firm understanding of exactly how much they’re paying towards their mortgage every payment period.

• What's the difference between a fixed rate mortgage and a variable rate mortgage?

  With a fixed rate mortgage, your interest rate and monthly payments remain the same for the entire duration of your mortgage term. With a variable rate mortgage, the interest rate changes when the CIBC prime rate changes. Despite this, your regular payments will still remain constant. However, depending on how the interest rate changes, more of your regular payments may go to paying off the principal or paying off the interest.