Mortgage Arrears Calculator: What It Costs to Catch Up

After one or two missed payments the lender sends demand letters and reports the arrears to the credit bureaus. If nothing is resolved, an Ontario lender can start power of sale and an Alberta or Saskatchewan lender can start a court foreclosure — but at every stage before the final sale, paying out the arrears or refinancing stops the process.

Legally a lender can act after a single default, but in practice proceedings usually start after 2–3 missed payments. Ontario power of sale moves fastest — a notice of sale can be issued 15 days after default. Alberta and Saskatchewan foreclosures run through court and take months longer, which is time you can use.

Yes — right up until the property is sold (or a final foreclosure order in Alberta), you can redeem by paying the arrears plus the lender’s legal costs, or refinance the whole mortgage with a new lender. Thousands of homeowners do exactly that every year; the earlier you move, the less it costs.

Yes. Banks won’t touch arrears, but B lenders and private lenders refinance homeowners in arrears routinely — approval rests on your equity, not your payment history. The new mortgage pays out the old lender, arrears, and legal costs in one closing.

Arrears are reported monthly and hurt, but they’re recoverable — a refinance that brings everything current stops the damage, and scores rebuild within 12–24 months. A completed power of sale or foreclosure is far worse and follows you for years, which is why acting early matters.

Selling yourself beats letting the lender sell it — you control price and timing. But it’s rarely the first move: if equity covers a refinance, you can bring the mortgage current, keep the house, and sell later on your own terms if you still want to.