When should you refinance your home loan?

It's a good idea to review your mortgage to see if it is still suitable for your circumstances and still represents good value. Whatever your situation, refinancing your home loan can have benefits including: Saving money in the long run with a better interest rate, Consolidating multiple debts onto your cheapest interest rate, Paying off your home loan faster if you decide to change your term. With that in mind, you need to think carefully if it makes financial sense to replace your old home loan or not, so before refinancing, consider: Costs – loan application fees for new loans, mortgage discharge fees, or break costs if your home loan has a fixed rate.enders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) – If you have less than 20% equity in your home, you may have to pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance. You cannot transfer the existing LMI to the new loan, despite the fact that your previous lender is no longer at risk. Read more about when to refinance your home loan here.

Refinance calculator

Q: How do you refinance a home loan?

At loans.com.au, we use a fast process to refinance your loan called FastTrax Refi. FastTrax Refi allows you to pay out your lender quickly. You don’t even have to contact your old lender - we do the hard work for you. You simply apply online and talk to a lending specialist, upload your documents and then your work is done! From the time you return the completed mortgage documents and Loan Agreement to us, it only takes days to switch to loans.com.au. For more information, you can download our handy guide to refinancing.

Want to know how much money you could save by refinancing? Use our home loan refinancing calculator to see how much you could save on interest and mortgage repayments by switching to loans.com.au. Simply enter your remaining loan amount, property value, current rate and loan term, and we’ll tell you how much you could be saving by switching to one of our competitive rate home loans.

Your loan details

Amount owing on current loan

Property purpose

Home

Investment

Current interest rate

Remaining loan term

years

You could save up to

$183,690

over the life of your loan if you switch to loans.com.au

Variable Bare Home Loan

Borrow up to 90% LVR

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Interest rate

5.54 % p.a.

5.58%p.a.

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How to use our refinancing calculator

Our refinancing calculator is easy to use and generates your results instantly. All you will need to do is add the following key details:

Your current loan balance
Number of years remaining on your loan term
Your current interest rate

To get the best result, it’s important to enter your details as accurately as possible. This will allow you to get a good idea of how much you could save by switching to a lower rate or shortening your repayment period.

Keep in mind, refinancing calculators do not take certain important pieces of information into account including your personal financial situation, employment status or possible additional switching costs from your current loan like break fees and setup costs.

Why use a home loan refinancing calculator?

Australian homeowners miss out on thousands of dollars worth of savings each year by staying loyal to their existing banks high mortgage rates. While you might think you're locked into a home loan for a long time, in reality, people switch loans and lenders all the time.

But how do you know if the switch is worth it? By using our refinancing calculator, you can see how much you will save over the life of your loan compared to your existing rate and make the right decision for you.

It's important to understand there may be extra costs when it comes to refinancing your home loan. Be sure to do your research and factor these into your calculations so you can be sure refinancing is worth it, even if you are getting a lower rate.

FAQs

What documents do you need to refinance?

You will need to supply documents to prove you can afford to repay the loan, including:

PAYG Payers - last two pay slips
Self employed - last two years tax returns with an ATO Notice of Assessment
Three months of bank statements
Evidence of any rental income
Six months of statements for your current home loan
Three months of statements for any loans you are consolidating (ie. credit card debt)
A copy of your current Rates Notice and evidence of payment

On our end, we’ll arrange a property valuation, credit assessment and manage the paperwork with your current lender.

Get more information on what documents you need to refinance your home loan.

How do you refinance a home loan?

At loans.com.au, refinancing is as simple as a quick online application, chatting to a lending specialist then uploading your documents in the onTrack app. After this, you’ll sign your loan documentation, we’ll pay your existing lender then you’ll settle!

If the refinancing process is new to you, there’s always someone you can chat to via 1300 804 152, via our app onTrack, or on LiveChat or even Facebook. Alternatively, you can manage the entire application yourself through the onTrack app.

Whatever suits you most, we’re here to help as little or as much as you need.

For more information, follow our step by step guide to how refinancing your home loan works.

It's a good idea to review your mortgage every so often to see if it is still suitable for your circumstances and still represents good value. Whatever your situation, refinancing your home loan can have benefits including:

Saving money in the long run with a better interest rate,
Consolidating multiple debts onto your cheapest interest rate,
Paying off your home loan faster if you decide to change your term.

With that in mind, some things to consider when refinancing include:

Costs – loan application fees for new loans, mortgage discharge fees, or break costs if your home loan has a fixed rate.
Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) – If you have less than 20% equity in your home, you may have to pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance. You cannot transfer the existing LMI to the new loan, despite the fact that your previous lender is no longer at risk.

Read more about when to refinance your home loan.

What is equity and how can you use it to refinance?

The equity in your home is the difference between its market value and your remaining home loan balance.

To put it simply, this is the value of what you currently own in your home. For example, the market value of your home is $350,000 and you still owe $200,000. When you subtract the loan balance from your property value, you have $150,000 of equity in your home.

The best thing about building up your equity is that it can be accessed through home loan refinancing, allowing you to use your home as security and use these funds for other expenses.

Refinancing can be a way to use the equity in your home to invest in home improvements, or in other real estate. However, keep in mind that increasing your loan will mean an increase in your loan repayments.

Find out more about accessing equity to buy another house.

Are there any costs to refinancing a loan

At loans.com.au, we charge no ongoing, monthly, or annual fee.

If you settle a loan with loans.com.au, the only additional costs include a one-off $300 settlement fee plus a security assessment fee, which for a standard property in a metropolitan area in a major city is approximately $230 for properties valued up to $1 million. Depending on where you live, there may also be external government charges.

It's important to do thorough research so you know exactly how much you'll be paying to refinance your loan. Common refinancing fees and costs can include:

Mortgage application fee
Security assessment fee
Discharge fee
Break costs
Settlement fee
Lenders Mortgage Insurance
Exit fees
External government charges

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Make the switch via loans.com.au

We’ve made refinancing simpler with onTrack – a system that fits your schedule. Upload documents, track progress, and manage your refinancing process at your convenience. Just log in anytime, anywhere

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Whatever stage of the home loan journey you're at, we can help

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