For the past 18 months, agents have been told the same story: A massive renewal wave is coming, and this is your chance to make money.
But the truth is: this is just a mirage. Waiting for renewals to drive business is a losing bet. Banks have locked customers in when their mortgages are coming due.
Why the renewal is not delivered
Incumbent lenders have an unfair advantage (to say the least). Renewal is the path of least resistance for customers, and lenders’ deep pockets allow them to go on the offensive. They will spend more than you do on marketing and lower your costs by spending hours negotiating. By the time an extension comes around, the deal is usually gone.
What should brokers pay attention to?
The real opportunity is mid-cycle, well before updates. At this time, changes in a client’s life (divorce, new baby, moving) and market fluctuations can create new mortgage needs or opportunities.
challenge? These openings are invisible to most Canadian homeowners. They may not realize that rising equity could allow them to upgrade from a condo to a townhouse, or they may not understand what a Bank of Canada rate cut would actually mean for them. They don’t know how to do the math themselves, and they don’t want to book a meeting just to find out.
Like you, your customers are busy, but unlike you, they don’t take the time to think about a mortgage! Because most brokers don’t prioritize these opportunities in a meaningful way, these opportunities fall by the wayside.
Why generic strategies fail
The answer isn’t another birthday card or rate change email. These strategies do not eliminate the noise. What the homeowner really responded to was Personalized insights Help them make smarter financial decisions about their greatest asset.
In the age of artificial intelligence, data-driven personalization isn’t just nice to have: it’s what customers expect.
Since banks have no incentive to provide such advice, this is where brokers can win.
How Orwell changed the game
This is where Ownwell comes in. Our automated monthly homeownership reports identify opportunities long before lease renewal season. They are opportunities that banks don’t see (or, more realistically, banks don’t want your customers to see).
Each report delivers the most valuable, engaging insights a homeowner can get from a mortgage advisor: home value, interest savings, affordability and equity. These insights spark curiosity and naturally lead to conversations where you can demonstrate your value.
In other words, Ownwell creates ongoing engagement around real estate and mortgages, automatically making you top of mind while turning your customer database into a transaction engine.
It works. Brokers across Canada have proven this:
- Jeff McGinn, Indian Mortgage Corporation: “Since launching Ownwell in August 2024, I have been blown away by the results. I started with a relatively small number of clients (only 175 clients who had purchased properties in the past five years). Fast forward to today and we have completed 13 refinances/conveyances and 7 purchase and sale transactions with these clients.”
- Tyler Wilson, Pilot Mortgage Group: “In just one month with Ownwell, we received more than 10 calls from customers asking for interest savings. Ownwell paid for itself in less than a day.”
- Amanda Walczyk, Saltbox Mortgage: “Back in February 2025, I loaded 75 clients into Ownwell, and since then I’ve closed over 10 deals, some from clients who proactively contacted me after receiving reports, and others from opportunities the system identified for me.”
These are not one-time wins. They are new scripts.
Double return
Orwell also provides:
Immediate return on investment + long-term retention = sustainable growth
You can create business today by exposing hidden assets, interest savings, and advancement opportunities now. By automating ongoing personalized reports every month, you can stay ahead of the curve so customers never come back to your bank.
real gold
The so-called renewal gold rush won’t save your business. The real gold is already in your database, and the broker who mines it today will still win tomorrow.
By continuing to provide customers with relevant, personalized insights after the deal closes, you can stay ahead of renewal season, demonstrate your value and identify opportunities. That’s exactly what Ownwell helps you do: turn every customer relationship into an engine for repeat and referral business.
Want to see it in action?
Visit Ownwell in booth #75 at the National Mortgage Conference in Ottawa, October 18-20. Get your free Ownwell report and win a dream golf tournament on any course in North America. Or feel free to email me: [email protected].
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Last modified: October 16, 2025
