Refinancing your home loan
How a refinance actually runs, what it costs, how long it takes, and the two questions that decide whether it is worth doing at all.
A refinance is not a reset button, it is a trade: you pay some costs and effort now for a lower rate, better features or access to equity later. Whether the trade is good depends on your loan, not on the ad you saw. Here is how we work it out and what happens after.
Find out what you are actually paying
Your current rate, the comparison rate, any fixed period and its end date, and the loan balance and remaining term. Most people have not looked since settlement. Loyalty tax is real: existing customers routinely pay 0.3% to 0.8% more than new ones at the same bank.
Compare across the panel, not one bank
We price your loan across our lender panel using your real numbers. The output is a short list with the total cost over the next three years, fees included, not just the headline rate.
Count the switching costs
Discharge fee from your current lender (usually $150 to $400), new lender application and valuation fees (often waived), government mortgage registration and discharge fees in Victoria, and any fixed-rate break cost, which can be large. If the savings do not clear these within 18 to 24 months, we tell you to stay put, or ask your current lender to match.
Decide what else the refinance should do
Consolidate a car loan or credit card into the mortgage, release equity for a deposit on an investment property or a renovation, split fixed and variable, add an offset. This is where structure matters more than rate.
Apply
Same documents as a purchase, plus your current loan statements and a council rates notice. Valuation is usually desktop or kerbside and takes days, not weeks.
Approval, discharge and settlement
The new lender pays out the old one. Two to four weeks from application is typical. Your repayments change from the next cycle, and we diarise your new fixed-rate expiry so you are not caught by a revert rate.
When refinancing is usually not worth it
- You are inside a fixed period and the break cost exceeds the saving
- Your loan balance is small (under about $200,000) and the fees eat the gain
- You plan to sell within a year or two
- Your income or credit position has weakened since you took the loan, so the new assessment may fail
Common questions
Will refinancing affect my credit score?
One application is one enquiry and has a small, short-lived effect. Applying to several lenders in a row is what damages a file, which is exactly what a broker prevents.
Can I refinance if my property value has fallen?
If your loan is now above 80% of the value, LMI may apply again and the maths changes. We check the valuation position before lodging anything.
Do I have to refinance to get a better rate?
No. Often the first step is a repricing request to your current lender with the competing offer in hand. Around a third of our rate reviews end that way, with no switch at all.
Common questions
How do I know if refinancing is worth it?
Compare the total switching cost against what you save across the period you will realistically hold the loan. If the savings do not clear the costs, staying put, or asking your current lender to reprice, is usually the better move.
Can I refinance to access equity?
Often yes. If your property has risen in value you may be able to borrow against that equity for renovations or a deposit on another property. The lender assesses the larger loan against your current income, so borrowing power still applies.
Will refinancing hurt my credit score?
Each application is recorded on your credit file, so several applications in a short period can read as stress to a lender. One considered application, prepared properly, has a minimal effect.
Want the numbers on your loan?
Send us your latest statement and we will come back with the total-cost comparison and a straight answer on whether to move, reprice or stay.