The easiest option

Mortgages rates are at their lowest now. You can save hundreds of dollars each month on your mortgage payment if you can stand riding the variable.

"More than 28% of Canadians have a variable-rate product tied to prime, according to the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals (CAAMP). If you negotiated a deal before October of last year, chances are you are now borrowing money for as little as 1.35%. That's based on deals that at one point saw the banks giving 90 basis points off prime. Prime is now 2.25%.

The average sale price of a home last month in Canada was $306,366. Based on a 25% downpayment and a 25-year amortization, your monthly payment would be $962.61 at 1.35%. Convert that to a five-year fixed-rate term and you're probably going to have to consider a 4% mortgage rate and a monthly payment of $1,289.04."

Todd and I spent about 5 hours weighing the benefits of one set of mortgage terms over another for one of our properties. I didn't want to spend time doing that but that is what banks count on. It's easiest to lock in and say, "Well I may not have got the best deal but it was safe and easy to do this".

That's all right if you don't mind up paying an extra $300 a month because it was too hard to think about your mortgage terms or maybe because it was sunny outside.

Keep an eye on the penalties on your mortgage they can pack a wallop if you decide to sell early. Sometimes a little negotiation with your lender can get out of them.