Refinance home loan

What is the benefit of refinancing?

There are many reasons that may benefit you in refinancing.

Due to the bank’s being more competitive and offering cheaper interest rates along with low fees or no fees, refinancing may be worth looking at.

Refinancing your loan to another lender, who has a cheaper interest rate and even less fees, or no ongoing fees at all can save you lots of money in the long run. The benefits of refinancing and reducing your interest rate should not be underestimated as the savings can take years off your loan and save you tens of thousands of dollars over the course of your loan.

Any one of these tips might save you money, we would like to see if you can have several of these benefits. Definitely worth considering.

Some of the benefits of refinancing are:

Lower interest rate:

• Obviously number one would be to obtain a lower interest rate and save you money. By dropping your rate, you are creating savings that you can use to pay off the loan sooner, without having to earn more money.
• Not bad: You can either pay this extra money onto the loan to reduce interest and the amount of years left or you can place it in savings.

Lower repayments:

• Refinancing when things are tight can often reduce the chances of you getting behind in payments in the future.
• If your circumstances are changing (maybe there is a baby on the way and there will be less income for a short while) and you feel that you may have difficulty in repaying your loan, a simple refinance and loan restructure can often make life easier.
• It is important for you to act on this before you miss repayments, as the incoming lender will certainly be looking at previous repayment history.

Less fees:

• The incoming lender may also have no monthly or yearly package fees or their fees could be just significantly less that what you are paying now.

No Fees:

• A lot of lenders currently have promotions where valuations and application fees are free. These loans can also be combined with great interest rate offers.

Consolidate your debts:

• The Refinance Home Loan may also allow you to combine smaller debts into one loan that makes repayments easier. Even if you are able to manage these debts easily, combining them and then allowing the same repayments to be made on the new loan will help in saving money., y
• You will generally find that you are able to pay back your debt faster and be no worse off each week than you were before you refinanced. Please see our Debt Consolidation Loan page if you would like more info on this type of loan.

Restructure for today:

• Refinancing will also allow you to restructure your new loan according to what is happening today. For example you may want to fix a portion of your loan for three years allowing you the stability of knowing what your repayments will be and the comfort of knowing that these repayments will not change in that time period. please see our Structured Loan page to learn more.

Increased equity:

• Refinancing may allow you to take advantage of an increase in the value of your property since your last loan. This may allow you to explore investment opportunities that you otherwise would not have had.There are many areas that a new valuation would be beneficial if you need to access the usable equity in your property.

Releasing a guarantor:

• Refinancing can also allow you to release a previous guarantor who may have helped you to buy your existing property. This may be possible if the property you purchased has increased in value and the new lender will use the new valuation in order to support your loan, therefore releasing the guarantor.

Lifestyle costs:

• Refinancing to access equity in your property for other worthwhile purposes can also be a good idea. This allows you flexibility to pay for any major upcoming expenses, such as a holiday, new car, home improvements, furniture or a host of other needs that you may have in the future.

Note: The Refinance Home Loan will only be recommended by your broker if there is a clear saving to be made over your existing lending structure. If we can’t save you money, then there really is no point in recommending that you refinance.
There are many more benefits that have not been covered in this list, and depending on what your exact circumstances are, there may be other savings or benefits that can be achieved by refinancing.

Should you refinance your loan?

You should seriously consider the benefits of refinancing your loan. We recommend that speak with a mortgage broker, who can access the hundreds of loans that are on the market and compare it to what you have now. The important thing to consider is the differences and savings between the loan you have now, and the loan that is recommended to you. Until then, you will not know if there is a direct benefit to you or not.

We always want to show our clients that there is a direct benefit to them when restructuring their finances. It is not difficult for you to look at the numbers and compare it to what you are doing now and decide for yourself.

What do you need to be careful of when refinancing your home loan?

The most obvious answer here is that if you are refinancing and there is no benefit then why would you do it?

We are not in the habit of recommending anyone to proceed with a refinance unless there is a saving to be made. Speak with your mortgage broker and find out if this is a suitable loan for you.

Be careful of when refinancing:

• You need to be careful that the new loan contract you are entering will not be detrimental to you and therefore placing you in a worse financial position than where you already were. Not all loans are equal and quite often we see clients who have obtained a loan, only to find that they have restrictions on the new loan that they did not anticipate. The most common problem we encounter is loans being set up with no planning for the next few years. A few well placed questions can often make a difference. This means that the more informed we are, the better we can look at the overall situation properly, and advise accordingly.
• You also need to be careful when approaching lenders. The fact is, that individual lenders can only discuss their own product. we would not write that here if it were not true.
• The lenders are not in the business of recommending a better lender than themselves to their clients. Why would they?
• With over 40 lenders and hundreds of loans to choose from, you should talk to a mortgage broker about your situation to enable them to investigate what products are available to you.
• Once we know the basics of your needs we can enter the information into our loan comparison system.
• Our loan comparison software analyses hundreds of loans in a matter of moments and tells us what options are available for you.

The main reason it is good to deal with a broker is that your broker will know and understand the lending policy behind the loans of many lenders, therefore understanding if there are any restrictions that you need to know about, before you apply for finance. This is a free service even if you do not proceed with an application.

• In reality, there are not a lot of downsides to refinancing your mortgage provided that you are going to be on a better deal. we would like you to be on the best deal. Please have your finance broker assist you in determining the right product for your individual needs.

How can I apply?

These are your simple steps to apply for a loan.

• Contact us on 02 4257 5626 to speak to a mortgage broker, or complete our online enquiry form.
• You will speak with a broker who will take into account your needs by discussing not only your requirements, but also any concerns you have, and offer you some possible strategies and ideas that you may not have thought about.
• Once we know what you require, we will draft and email you a proposal– this will usually consist of a few options that are easy to understand.
• Once you have had a chance to look at what options are available, you can contact your broker or the broker will call you, to discuss the proposal.
• You can then decide if you wish to proceed or you may just want to discuss more options.

What are my other options?

There are many options available:

• Whether you are after a variable interest rate, a fixed interest rate, interest only loan, equity loan or any of the other loans available, it is important that you find out what is available to you before applying for a loan.
• Whether you are refinancing your home loan to a lower rate, or a property investor looking to buy that second or third property, we will have some ideas for you to consider.
• Even if you are a first home buyer purchasing a new home or renovating your existing home, there are some great deals available from the banks and lenders that we are accredited with.

Summary:

• There is no “one loan fits all” scenario in home loans and to be fair to our clients (and to ourselves) an assessment must be done at our first point of contact with you in order for us to understand your situation.
• All information remains confidential of course, whether you decide to apply for finance, or not.
• We are very easy to talk to. We have been dealing with home loans since 1998. You can be sure that when you call us to discuss your needs that you will be speaking with a professional consultant, who does actually care about your situation.
• We understand that without our clients, we have no business.

NOTE: These pages are of general advice in nature. They have not taken into account your specific needs and objectives and are therefore designed to provide general information only. Before acting on any of the information contained on our website please have your Mortgage Broker assist you in determining the right product for your individual needs.‍