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Commercial Refinancing

Refinancing wins when the math wins.

Established businesses often carry debt that no longer fits: a merchant cash advance draining daily, an old term at a worse rate, multiple loans that could fold into one. Refinancing can fix that, if the savings exceed the cost.

We read the math before we pitch the new lender. If staying put wins, we say so. If refinancing does, we match you to the desk that moves fastest and knows this work.

The Reality

When refinancing does not make sense, we say so.

Refinancing is not always the right move. Prepayment penalties can be steep; new lender fees compound the cost; if you reset the amortization, you pay more interest over time even at a lower rate. The rate saving has to exceed all of these to justify moving.

An owner with three years left on a term at 7.5 percent might be tempted by a 5.5 percent offer. But the prepayment penalty, the new lender's fees, and three extra years of payments can turn the saving into a loss. You want someone to run the math before you move, not after.

We calculate the payback period first. You move when it makes money, not on rate alone.

The Instruments

What we refinance.

Commercial Mortgage

Long-term financing for real property, amortized over 5, 10, 15+ years. Used to buy real estate, refinance existing mortgages, or draw equity out of property the business already owns. Fixed or variable rates.

Term Debt Consolidation

Combining multiple loans into one facility, one payment, one lender. Simplifies cash flow if you have multiple terms running at different rates.

MCA Exit

Replacing merchant cash advances or high-rate short-term debt with structured bank facilities. MCA has a daily debit that can compound the cost; refinancing out proves the underlying business can breathe.

Ownership / Partner Buyout Debt

Financing to buy out a partner or minority shareholder, or to refinance a debt you took on for that purpose. Lenders read the deal terms and the remaining ownership structure.

Before You Move

What refinancing costs.

The low rate is the headline. The cost is what erases it. Here is what moves the needle.

Prepayment penalties

Your existing lender may charge a penalty to break the loan early. Interest rate differential, a fixed percentage, or three months of interest: varies by instrument. It can exceed the saving.

Origination and appraisal fees

New lender charges to underwrite and approve the new facility, plus appraisals on property or equipment that run from hundreds to several thousand dollars depending on the asset. These stretch the payback period.

Amortization reset

If you refinance early into a longer amortization, you pay more interest over time even if the rate is lower. The math needs to net the rate saving against the amortization cost.

The file work

A clean file costs less to refinance. A stale one (missed filings, outdated financial statements, tax or payroll disputes) costs more in application complexity. The same lender desk wants less work.

The System

First, we read your file the way lenders read it.

The debt stack is part of the story lenders read. We read it the same way they do, then decide if moving it wins. Every engagement starts with the same assessment: your financials and your ask, weighed against what each lender desk actually approves. It ends in one of two places, and both of them move you forward.

If the file is fundable

It goes to the right desk, and only the right desk.

We match your profile to the lenders whose approval patterns fit it. No blasting your file across forty inboxes, no surprise calls from lenders you never chose.

If it is not fundable yet

You get a plan that names what blocks you.

What stopped the file, what changes it, and how long that takes. Most declines are fixable; the plan is the work of fixing them, on a timeline you can hold us to.

The Process

How a refinancing engagement runs.

01

Financial review

We audit your current debt stack: terms, rates, remaining amortization, early payoff penalties. Then we audit your current financial statement and credit profile.

02

Math on paper

We run multiple scenarios: staying put, refinancing at market rates we can access, consolidating multiple debts. You see the payback period on each and which one wins.

03

Lender matching

If refinancing wins, we identify the lenders best positioned to move this structure. Banks, credit unions, institutional lenders across Canada, all with active commercial real estate or consolidation desks.

04

Application and underwriting

We present the file, field questions, and work toward approval. For refinances, lenders move quickly if the business is established and the numbers stack.

05

Close and fund

New funds land, old debt is cleared, and you have one payment instead of many. We stay available for the next facility or the covenant reporting the new lender requires.

The Profile

Typical refinancing candidates.

Established

Incorporated 2+ years

$100K to $5M+

Facility size range

Consistent revenue

Underwriting baseline

Banks and credit unions

Primary lender desks

Ranges are typical; outside them, we still assess. Business age, debt service, and debt structure matter more than the number alone.

Questions, answered

What owners ask us about refinancing.

When does refinancing actually make sense?

When the net saving exceeds the cost of moving, and only then. A 200-basis-point rate drop sounds decisive until you net it against the prepayment penalty, the new appraisal and lender fees, and the extra interest a longer amortization quietly adds back. On some files that math says move; on plenty it says stay put and renegotiate at renewal. We run it on both sides before you commit either way.

What does it cost to break my current loan?

It varies by instrument and contract. Term loans commonly charge an interest rate differential (the spread between your rate and current market, applied across the remaining term) or three months of interest, whichever the note specifies; on larger facilities the differential alone can run to five figures. Lines of credit usually break without penalty. Equipment financing often carries an early payout fee. Read your note, and if it does not spell the penalty out, ask your lender for the payout statement in writing before you apply anywhere.

Can I refinance out of a merchant cash advance?

Yes, when the business underneath works. Lenders see MCAs as a distress signal, which is fair: daily debits scale with your sales and can compound the cost into an unsustainable spiral. But if your financials show the business is solid and the MCA was a temporary bridge, a lender will refinance it away. The file needs to be clean: recent financials, tax returns current, no payroll or HST arrears. And the lender needs to see the daily drain stopping, which is the point of refinancing. It is doable; it is not automatic.

Will refinancing hurt my credit or my banking relationship?

Refinancing hurts credit minimally and temporarily. A new credit inquiry drops your score a few points; it bounces back in months. Hard inquiries cluster when you shop multiple lenders, so we minimize them by targeting the right desks. On the relationship: moving debt is normal. The bank that loses the refinance is not offended; they move on. If you have multiple facilities with the same lender, refinancing one is fine. Moving all of them is a bigger decision, but still done regularly.

How long does refinancing take?

Depends on the facility type and file completeness. A straightforward mortgage refinance on clean real property takes six to eight weeks: appraisal, underwriting, legal, closing. A consolidation with multiple facilities takes longer because each one has its own payoff mechanics. If your financial statements are stale or there are tax/payroll issues to clear, you add weeks. Prepared files move faster. Start to finish, three to four months is normal; some close in six weeks if everything aligns.

Rates, fees, and terms are market conditions as of June 2026. Prepayment penalties and payoff mechanics vary by instrument and lender; confirm with your current lender before applying.

Find out if refinancing wins.

We run the math on your current debt stack and the scenarios that move it. You see the payback period. Then you decide.

You pay us, mostly when funding lands. Lenders pay us nothing.