Transferring your mortgage or switching your mortgage from one lender to another is usually done in order to take advantage of a better rate or better terms. A transfer or switch is different then a refinance. A transfer/switch is when you don't add any money to the mortgage, although most lenders will allow you to capitalize up to $3,000 to cover legal, appraisal and/or any potential penalties if applicable. If you require more than the $3,000 the lender can capitalize then this is when you would consider a refinance and pricing could be different and something to consider.
There are a couple specific times you may consider a transfer/switch:
1. When your mortgage term is up. You start considering other lenders outside of renewing with your existing lender and there normally would not be a penalty to switch lenders. You will need to qualify for the new mortgage and there may be some se up fees, but a lot of lenders or brokerages will cover this cost or capitalize in the loan (up to $3,000).
2. You decide to transfers/switch your mortgage during your term (its not maturing anytime soon). The main reason for doing this, is obtaining a better rate or term. You would most likely have a penalty to break, but the evaluation was done in advance to consider this and determine that the financials benefit more than offsets the penalty.
If your ever considering a new mortgage brokers are great (like us), because we are a singular point of contact to access multiple lenders, rates and terms. We have access to banks, credit unions, trust companies, monoline lenders and private capital.