The refinance review checklist

A refinance review is not automatically a recommendation to move. Roughly a third of the reviews we do end with a note saying stay put, because the switching cost outweighs what you would gain, or your current lender agrees to a better deal once you ask. This checklist is what we actually work through, in order.

Start with what you have

• Your current interest rate type, fixed or variable, and when any fixed period ends
• The loan balance and the remaining term
• Whether you have an offset account, and how much sits in it day to day
• Any annual or monthly package fee you are currently paying
• Redraw availability and whether you have used it

The quiet cost most comparisons leave out

A new thirty year loan resets the clock unless you ask for it not to. Move a loan with twenty two years left onto a fresh thirty year term and your monthly repayment drops, which looks like a win right up until you add up the extra years of interest across the life of the loan. We set every refinance up to keep your remaining term unless you have a specific reason to extend it, and we say so in writing before you sign anything.

The cost of switching itself

Discharge fees from your current lender, an establishment or valuation fee on the new loan, and government registration charges all sit on the other side of the ledger from whatever you are saving. On a small remaining balance, or a loan you plan to have paid off within a year or two, those costs can take a long time to earn back. We cost the switch itself before recommending it, not after.

What actually moves the outcome

Ask your own lender first

Before we lodge anything with someone else, we suggest asking your current lender for a review. It costs nothing, it is often the fastest path to a better outcome, and if they will not move, you have lost nothing by asking. One of our own reviews last year ended exactly this way: a client rang their own lender, asked for a review, and the switching conversation was over before it started.

This is general information, not advice about your specific loan. Rates, fees and lender policy all move. A refinance review is free whether or not you end up switching, and it is the right way to test any of this against your actual numbers.