The standard fixed and variable rate mortgage products are staples for RBC, but the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) offers various specialty mortgage products. These products consist of the RateCapper Mortgage, the EnergySaver Mortgage, the RBC Homeline Plan, a Self-Employed Mortgage product, and a Cash Back Mortgage, all outlined below in detail.

The RateCapper Mortgage: This is a variable RBC mortgage rate with a maximum “capped” rate for a five-year term. This protects you from rate increases if current mortgage rates go up beyond the max “capped” rate, and if the mortgage rates go down, your rate goes down just as it would with a standard variable RBC mortgage rate and your payments.

RBC homeline plan – RBC (HELOC) home equity line of credit

RBC offers its flexible RBC Homeline Plan, which is a re-advanceable (HELOC) home equity line of credit that allows you to borrow against your equity built up in your home. Its most prominent feature is the readvancing credit line. As you pay off the mortgage principal, you can immediately re-borrow the home credit line feature’s funds.

There, of course, are certain restrictions for qualifying for RBC’s Homeline Plan. First, of course, you will need strong credit and a minimum of 20% equity in your home. You can then borrow up to a max of 65% of your home’s appraised value in a revolving line of credit (HELOC). The other 15% can be in the form of a regular traditional mortgage. The HELOC and mortgage portions can be any size as long as you qualify for the mortgage product.

The RBC Homeline is a collateral charge mortgage, meaning you can borrow more without visiting a lawyer. One keynote is, this can potentially cost you more if you change lenders in the future.

All RBC clients have convenient online and ATM access to their Royal Credit Line and RBC mortgage all in one place. The RBC Homeline can be accessed easily and quickly for various uses, including being used as an emergency fund or use from everything from renovations, vehicle purchases, tuition fees for a family member, and even investment options.

The Energy Saver Mortgage: This is a mortgage solution with a rebate to help you reduce your home energy costs. It provides a $300 rebate on a home energy audit, and you have the choice of the typical residential mortgage or the RBC Homeline Plan that RBC offers its clients.

RBC Cash Back Mortgage provides cashback at the time your mortgage is advanced. This amount of money you receive is based on your mortgage’s size and term, up to 7% of its value. 

RBC’s Self-Employed Mortgage is available for self-employed individuals and has difficulty obtaining competitive rates for buying, refinancing, renovating, etc. With this product, financing is up to 90% of the value of your home. 

And finally, the Vacation Home Mortgage from RBC lets you finance up to 95% of your vacation home’s value.

RBC’s online learning center includes a range of features such as guides on buying and selling your home, renovating your home, maximizing energy efficiency, and general mortgage advice, all aimed at self-education and making informed decisions on your mortgage products. As you do your information collection process, you should compare RBC’s mortgage rates against other lenders, banks, and mortgage brokers to obtain the best mortgage interest rate for your needs.

Accessing RBC mortgage rates today

You can get access to RBC mortgage rates by going to a local RBC bank directly. While RBC doesn’t work with mortgage brokers, it’s worth speaking to a mortgage broker when comparing mortgage rates. This is because the best mortgage brokers work with multiple lenders, have access to exclusive deals, the best mortgage brokers negotiate on your behalf for the best rates and terms. If you want to get your mortgage from one of the big banks, using a mortgage broker will most likely still get you a better deal as they have discounted rates

RBC Mortgage Features

Many of the RBC mortgages come with extra features that can help you pay down your mortgage faster or provide assistance during financial stress times.

RBC Skip-A-Payment: This feature lets you quickly and easily skip payments to your mortgage. You can miss four consecutive weekly payments, or two consecutive bi-weekly payments, or one monthly payment. One key point is the interest for skipped payments is added onto your mortgage balance; your mortgage payments will not change, though, and you can pay back your skipped payments anytime.

RBC Double-Up Payments: This feature lets you pay off your mortgage faster by doubling your regular monthly mortgage payments. You can prepay any amount from as low as $100 up to your standard mortgage payment amount. Any of this prepaid amount will go directly to paying down your principal and save you tens of thousands in interest over your mortgage’s lifetime.

RBC Annual Mortgage Prepayment: This feature allows you to prepay up to 10% of your mortgage’s original principal amount once every 12 months. This prepayment is applied directly to your mortgage principal, not the interest part of your mortgage.

RBC HomeProtector Insurance: The RBC insurance program can help pay for your mortgage in the event of death, disability. or critical illness. The premiums are set when you apply for your mortgage and will not increase as long as your mortgage balance does not increase over the term of your mortgage, and as long as you do not refinance your mortgage. Thes insurance payments are separate from your mortgage and are not included as part of an RBC mortgage.

RBC mortgage pre-approval

Once you have collected the necessary information you will need, such as your annual income, financial history, existing assets and liabilities, and employment information, you can complete the online pre-approval application to see your RBC mortgage rate in less than three minutes with their pre-qualification tool.

RBC mortgage application checklist

Once you have started the application process, RBC will ask you questions relating to what you owe and own; some of the expenses relating to the property, such as heating costs, taxes, and condo fees; also, whether you will be using the property to generate income. Additional information RBC will require includes:

• Your last two years T1 and Notice of Assessment
• A current list of your assets and liabilities
• The confirmation of your down payment may include recent bank statements, a Gift Letter, or RRSP withdrawal confirmations.
• Job letter proving current employment and income, including recent payslips
• Documents are proving additional income such as child tax credit etc.
• The details about the property your buying or currently own, including the MLS listing (if applicable) and any associated bills and taxes (e.g., property taxes, heating costs, and condo fees).

More on the Royal Bank of Canada

The Royal Bank of Canada is Canada’s largest bank as measured by assets and market capitalization, and is among the largest banks in the world, based on market capitalization. It is a diversified financial services company with personal and commercial and private banking, insurance, corporate and investment banking, wealth management services, and transaction processing services globally. It employs approximately 78,000 employees who serve close to 18 million personal public sector, business, and institutional clients through offices in Canada, 51 other countries, and the U.S.