Refinance Home Loans

There’s no set schedule to follow in terms of when you should refinance your home loan, but it can certainly be worth regularly checking in to see how competitive your interest rate is - say, once a year. One place to start is by seeing how your current rate stacks up against the latest average home loan rates in the Mozo database as a rough guide, then comparing it to a few offers from different lenders.   

Another trigger that may suggest it’s time to consider refinancing is if you’ve paid off a chunk of your loan or your home equity has increased. That’s because many lenders offer rate discounts for home loans with lower LVRs, so it’s possible you could be able to take advantage of this by refinancing (or negotiating with your current lender).

That’s a tricky question, because it can take days or weeks depending on your situation. At first, when you’re researching your refinance home loan options and getting all your necessary documentation together, you’re entirely in charge of how long it takes - you might get it all done in an afternoon, or you could do it over a week or two. Once you’ve applied for the refinancing loan, things are in the bank’s hands and there’s two options: fast track refinancing, or standard refinancing.

• Fast track: If you want to get your refinancing done and dusted, then you can ask your new lender about fast refinancing, which can take as little as three days. This essentially means that your new lender will pay out your loan before receiving the title to your home, speeding the process along. Keep in mind, your new lender may require you to pay title insurance, in case there are problems when transferring the title after they have paid out your loan.

• Standard process: The other option is to stick to the standard refinancing process, which generally takes around 3-4 weeks. In this process, you apply to refinance your home loan with the new lender, then they will contact your old lender to transfer your debt over. It takes a bit longer to refinance this way, but the good thing is that you won’t need to pay title insurance.

Yes, in the sense that when you refinance with another lender you technically take out a new loan. However, that doesn’t mean your repayments start from square one! After all, you’ve already put in the hard yards by paying some of your loan down, so that won’t disappear. Refinancing also doesn’t mean you’ll be forced to take out another 25 or 30 year loan - you should be able to negotiate with the lender you’re refinancing with as to the length of your loan term.    

The general rule is that you’ll want to have at least 20% equity built up (so a LVR of 80% or lower) before you consider switching home loans, otherwise you may face the prospect of having to take out lenders mortgage insurance again - an expense you can do without.  

As we mentioned above, many lenders also provide even lower rates for borrowers with lower LVRs or greater equity, so don’t forget to shop around whenever your loan to value ratio falls below a new threshold e.g. 70%, 60% etc.

As with any home loan application, you’ll need to pull a few documents together when refinancing your mortgage. Some of those may include:  Identification: e.g. a passport, drivers licence or a birth certificate Income: e.g. recent payslips, tax returns or a group certificate Assets and liabilities: e.g. investments you hold or any credit card or loan debt you may have (including your current home loan) Expenses: e.g. bank statements indicating how much you spend

While you’re refinancing your home loan, why not score some handy features to help you save even more? There are tonnes of different home loans, ranging from basic options to full feature packages with all the bells and whistles, so you’re sure to find an option that has the features you want.

A couple to keep an eye out for include:

• Free extra repayments. Being able to make extra repayments and pour every spare dollar into paying off your home loan will not only mean you’re debt free quicker, but it can also cut down on the amount of interest you pay.
• Redraw facility. This is a nice feature to have, just in case you go a bit overboard with those extra repayments, and then find yourself needing the cash for an unexpected bill. Remember that even if your loan comes with a redraw facility, there may be a minimum amount you need to redraw at a time, or there could be a fee. Look for an option that offers free redraw!
• Offset account. A super easy way to cut down on the amount of interest you pay on your home loan is to stick your savings in an offset account. This effectively lowers the principal amount you pay interest on every single day - without you lifting a finger.

One of the barriers to refinancing is that there are a number of fees that may apply when you do so. First of all, when you close out your old loan, you might be hit with a discharge or early break fee.

Then the new loan may include all the usual fees, such as application fee, valuation fee or yearly service fee. You should keep these in mind when deciding to refinance, and make sure the cost of fees doesn’t outweigh the benefit of making a switch.

It’s a good question. Before refinancing your home loan with a new lender it’s worth checking in with your existing bank or lender to see if they’d be willing to offer you a better interest rate. That’s because discharge fees, as well as any set up fees with a new loan, can sometimes be expensive. 

Of course, if your existing lender isn’t prepared to offer you a rate that’s as competitive as other rates on the market then you’ll need to weigh up the benefits of making the switch (e.g. a lower rate and repayments) versus any costs associated with switching (e.g. fees). 

Aside from more competitive interest rates, one incentive some lenders will offer to refinancers is a home loan cashback deal. These cashback offers tend to range anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000 and even above, though they’re typically only available to refinancers who meet certain criteria such as a minimum loan size and LVR. 

Just remember, these loans with cashback deals don’t always come with the most competitive home loan rates around, so it’s also worth doing your research and comparing various offers first.

If you’re ready to take the plunge and refinance your mortgage to a better deal, you can start by comparing your home loan options in the table above. When you find the perfect fit, just click the blue ‘go to site’ button to go through to the lender’s website to get the ball rolling and apply to refinance, so consider looking at our comparisons to find the best mortgage available. 

Or you could try out our Switch and Save calculator, which will not only show you a bunch of refinancing home loan options, but also how much you could save by making a change, don't forget an interest only home loan can be a great option too