1. Documents to find
- ☐ Government photo ID for each person on the title (bring two pieces if your lawyer asks)
- ☐ Your latest property tax bill from the City of Mississauga
- ☐ The home insurance policy, or this year's renewal notice
- ☐ A recent statement for each mortgage or line of credit registered on the house
- ☐ A bank statement from the last month or two
- ☐ Condo owners: the most recent statement of your monthly condo fees
- ☐ If one exists: your continuing power of attorney for property
2. Questions worth asking first
- ☐ Is this rate fixed or variable, and for how many years is it set?
- ☐ Added together, what do the appraisal, the set-up fee and the legal costs come to?
- ☐ Taking this amount, about how much would be owed after 5 years? After 10?
- ☐ If the home were sold early, what charge would apply in each of the first five years?
- ☐ Is there a yearly amount I could pay back without a charge? (At some lenders, as much as 10% of the balance can be repaid each year.)
- ☐ When the term is over, what decides my next rate?
- ☐ If one of us needs long-term care, what changes?
- ☐ Will my son or daughter be copied on the emails?
3. The seven steps in order
- Free estimate. The estimate form takes about 90 seconds and shows a figure on screen. Asking for it doesn't affect your credit, and nobody pressures you.
- Every lender compared. Your Mississauga home is checked against every reverse mortgage lender in Canada. The first email from Richard Hopkins, Mortgage Broker, shows how much you could get and which lenders fit, and asks how much you want.
- Application. Once you've chosen an option, fill out a quick form and send a few documents. Your credit is checked once, and your application goes only to the lender you choose.
- Approval. The lender usually sends its mortgage commitment letter within a day or two.
- Appraisal. An appraiser visits the home to confirm its value, and the amount available adjusts to that value.
- Independent legal advice. You meet your own lawyer, who acts only for you, at your independent legal advice appointment (ILA). Your lawyer explains the mortgage before you sign it.
- Closing. On closing day, the lawyer or title company doing the closing receives the money from the lender. They pay off your current mortgage, any other debts on the home and the costs, then deposit the remaining money in your bank account.
4. The appointment with your own lawyer
No Canadian reverse mortgage can close without independent legal advice. Your own lawyer, acting for you and nobody else, goes through the mortgage before you sign it. Expect about $800 to $1,200 in Ontario. Most lenders want this done face to face at the lawyer's office, so take your photo ID along.
5. Jobs that stay yours after closing
- ☐ Pay every City of Mississauga property tax installment on time.
- ☐ Renew the home insurance before it runs out, every year.
- ☐ Look after the house so it stays in reasonable repair.
- ☐ Keep it as your main home for at least six months a year. Away for more than 30 days in a row? Arrange for someone to look in on it.
- ☐ Put the lender's contact details with your will and important papers, and tell your executor where to find them.
6. Notes for your family
- When the last borrower dies or moves out permanently, the estate generally gets 180 to 365 days, depending on the product, to sell the house or repay. Interest continues during that time.
- An empty house can lose its insurance cover after about 30 days with many insurers, so call the insurer if nobody will be living there.
- Whatever the house sells for above the balance goes to the family. The lender never becomes the owner.
Checklist from ReverseMortgageMississauga.ca, checked October 15, 2026. General information, not advice for your situation.