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
If the refinancing process is new to you, there’s always someone you can chat to via 13 10 90, 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
- 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
Get more information on what documents you need to refinance your home loan.
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
Why choose loans.com.au?
Low interest rates
Being an online lender with fewer overheads means we’re able to pass on the savings to our customers.
Australian based
Get help when you need it from our friendly team of Australian based, lending specialists.
Flexible options
Looking to save with an offset, or make extra repayments with a redraw? We have a full range of loan features to suit your situation.
Award winning
We keep on winning awards for our products, innovations and customer service, year after year!
Our Awards
We’re efficient. For the last 10 years, we’ve won awards each year for our innovation, low rate home loans and car loans and extras like our offset sub-account from experts like RateCity, Canstar and WeMoney to name a few.
Whatever stage of the home loan journey you're at, we can help
I'm buying my next home
We can approve your application quickly to help you get the keys to your next home as soon as possible, and with our low rates, it's possible for you to own your home sooner.
I'm refinancing
At loans.com.au, we make it easy for you to start saving thousands on your home loan repayments, as soon as possible. You don't even have to contact your old lender - we can do the hard work for you.
I'm buying my first home
The friendly lending specialists at loans.com.au are here to help you as much as you need when buying your first home. We can walk you through all your options to find the right loan for you, and we have a number of handy guides and videos available to help with the process.
I'm building a home
When you're building or doing major renovations, you have a lot on your mind. We can help take the stress out the finance with low rates and an easy online application so you can focus on the build.
Important information
This calculator provides you with an estimate of potential savings that may be achieved if you refinance your home loan to a loans.com.au variable rate home loan. The calculator does not take into account the costs associated with refinancing your home loan, which may include a discharge fee for the current loan, fees for mortgage discharge and registration, and any fees for the new loan.
- Assumptions: The loan amount, loan term and repayment frequency are the same for both current and new loans.
- Eligibility: The calculator uses interest rates for products that require security with an LVR up to 80% and principal and interest repayments.
- Interest Rate: The calculator uses the relevant loans.com.au variable interest rate to compare the Loan Purpose and Current Interest Rate entered by the user. The calculator applies this interest rate for the life of the loan. In practice, variable interest rates can change throughout the loan term.
- Repayments: We assume that:
- repayments are made at monthly intervals;
- the interest charge is divided equally over 12 monthly payments (in practice, interest is calculated daily and charged monthly);
- interest is charged to the loan account at the same frequency and on the same day as the repayments are made; and
- only your initial repayment amount is calculated. We assume that this repayment amount is payable for the loan term. In practice, repayment amounts can change for a variety of reasons.