Meridian mortgage review

Meridian offers low mortgage rates, flexible payment plans and personalized mortgage advice. Meridian is the second largest credit union in Canada and offers a full range of banking products and services. It has physical brick-and-mortar branches and business centres throughout Ontario.

What types of rates does Meridian charge?

Meridian offers various mortgage options with featured rates for Members, including specials on the 5-year fixed rate closed term and 5-year variable rate closed term.

Meridian also has featured rates for high-ratio (a down payment of less than 20%) variable and fixed closed plans.

What makes a Meridian mortgage unique?

Meridian takes pride in its status as Ontario’s largest credit union. It offers low featured rates coupled with superb service for its Members. As a credit union, Meridian re-invests its profits into improving its offerings and personalized service.

Meridian also provides mortgage options that address Members’ needs, like its Self-Employed Mortgage and its Flex Line Mortgage.

Am I eligible to qualify for a mortgage with Meridian?

You must be an Ontario resident to qualify for a mortgage with Meridian. If you meet this requirement, you can go through the pre-approval process to find out if you qualify for a mortgage. There is no commitment to go through with the mortgage after the pre-approval process.

To go through the pre-approval process, you must either visit a Meridian branch (Ontario only), call the contact center, apply online or book an appointment with one of Meridian‘s mortgage specialists. To apply online, you will have to provide personal and financial information. A dedicated mortgage specialist can help with this online process. You don’t need to be a Member to get pre-approval for Meridian mortgage products.

What are the benefits of getting a Meridian mortgage?

• Low rates. Meridian ‘s mortgage rates are more attractive thanks to featured rates on its most popular options.
• Flexible plans. Meridian offers fixed, variable and high-ratio mortgage options, giving Members a personalized payment plan that works for them.
• Lock in rates. If you see a rate from Meridian you like, you can lock it in for a period of 120 days.

• 20/20 prepayment privileges. You can pay 20% of the principal per year without penalty by increasing your monthly payment or through lump-sum principal payments, or through a combination of both.
• Switch between plans. If you’re on a variable mortgage plan with Meridian, you can switch to a fixed term at any time without penalty, or the other way around.

• Skip a payment. If you’re tight on cash, you can defer one month’s mortgage payment once every 12 months without a penalty. You must meet Meridian’s eligibility requirements in order to do this.

What to watch out for

• Ontario only. Meridian only offers its mortgage plans to residents of Ontario.

How do I get started?

If you live in Ontario and have decided you want to proceed with getting a mortgage with Meridian, you can begin by applying online. Doing so is easy and can be done in three steps.

First, you create your profile with Meridian, which will lock in the Meridian rate you want for 120 days.

Next, Meridian will prompt you to submit your application, which will include providing the company with your personal information so that it can run a credit check on you that it will then provide you with, free of charge, after receiving the results. During this stage, Meridian may also ask you to submit supplementary documents to complete your application.

Last, after you’ve submitted all the requirements, Meridian will get back to you within a few business days to let you know the final approval status of your application.

I got the mortgage. Now what?

Once you’ve been approved for a mortgage with Meridian you will meet with a licensed Meridian mortgage specialist or speak with one over the phone regarding the next steps of your mortgage. During this meeting, you can let your mortgage specialist know which mortgage plan you’re leaning towards and then work with the specialist to figure out the right payment schedule based on your current financial situation.

You have the following payment options: weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, semi-monthly, accelerated weekly and accelerated bi-weekly. To choose the right payment option for you, talk to your Meridian mortgage specialist.

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Bottom line

If you’re a resident of Ontario and want an alternative to getting a mortgage from one of the big banks, Meridian offers flexible mortgage plans and low featured interest rates to go along with its personalized Member service.

Frequently asked questions

• What is a mortgage term?

  This refers to the length of time you’re committing to your mortgage rate and conditions (fixed or variable, open or closed).

• What is the amortization period?

  This refers to the total length of time it takes to pay off your mortgage plus the interest. Generally, this period can be as low as 5 years all the way up to 30 years.

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

  When you sign up for a fixed mortgage rate, your interest rate is locked in for the duration of your term, protecting you from fluctuations of the interest rate. For a variable mortgage rate, your rate can change based on your lender’s prime rate.

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

  For an open mortgage, you have the chance to pay off part or all of your mortgage at any time during your term without any penalty. However, the interest rate is generally much higher than closed mortgages. In closed mortgages, you can only prepay a limited amount (up to 20%) of your principal amount. This comes with the caveat of paying much lower interest rates.

• How much will I be able to borrow?

  To understand how much you can borrow, you need to have a solid understanding of your total income and expenses. It might be a helpful exercise to write out your total income and compare it with your total expenses. A good rule of thumb is the Gross Debt Service Ratio (GDS), which states that no more than 32% of your gross annual income should go towards paying your annual shelter costs.

• How much money should I save for a down payment?

  Putting down 20% of the purchase price is ideal if you want to avoid paying extra for mortgage insurance. For example, if your home’s purchase price is $500,000, you should aim to plan for a down payment of $100,000.

• What if I can't put a down payment of 20% of the home's purchase price?

  While 20% is generally a good baseline, it is not set in stone. In fact, Meridian has a high-ratio mortgage plan where you can still purchase a home even if you don’t have 20% to put as a down payment.