Keith and Charlene K. are a retired couple in Muskoka caught in the middle of the mortgage changes.

They sold their home in Ontario’s Cottage Country to move to London to be close to their children and grandchildren.

They purchased a small home in London for $169,900 with a 25 per cent down payment. With their modest retirement pension income they would have qualified for a low interest rate “A” mortgage.

Under the new rules they did not qualify any longer, and their mortgage was placed with a B lender, at a much higher interest rate and increased closing costs. The result is that they are now paying $175 more per month in cost of living, and will pay an extra $16,000 in interest over the next five year alone, and have a balance owing after five years of $4,500 more.