MORTGAGES

Refinance Your Existing Mortgage

Refinancing is the process of switching your existing mortgage from one bank to another and renegotiating the terms of the loan. In most cases this is to make savings by getting a better overall deal.

Why Refinance Your Current Mortgage?

The opposite of refinancing your existing lending is accepting the status quo, as it’s easy to simply set and forget your home loan and keep making your regular repayments. While accepting the status quo might be an easy option for the short-term, over the long run it can cost you tens of thousands of dollars, and add years to your mortgage. To check you're not costing yourself thousands and committing to many years more mortgage repayments than you need to, it's nearly always well worth asking yourself a few questions, including:

Can I manage my loan repayments? Can I comfortably repay more?
Have I explored getting a better rate, potentially taking years off my mortgage?
Have I considered whether it suits me to free up funds to renovate, consolidate debt, or invest elsewhere?
Am I satisfied with the service of my current lender?
Is my mortgage structured so I can pay it off as quickly as possible?
Am I using all the home loan features that I'm currently paying for?
Is my mortgage structured to reflect my current lifestyle?

If you answered “no” or “I don’t know” to any of these questions, it’s time for you to book a complementary initial consultation to explore your options.

Complementary Existing Mortgage Review

A complimentary mortgage review could save you thousands in interest over the life of your loan, helping you become mortgage-free years faster. It's not just about getting a better interest rate, it's also about structuring the mortgage the right way for you.

The Benefits of Refinancing An Existing Mortgage

Take years off your loan term
Reduce your overall interest
Access to lower interest rates, that could free up funds to invest elsewhere or repay your lending faster
Consolidate some or all of your unsecured debt to improve your financial situation
Access to equity
Access to cash incentives

Many banks offer cash incentives to switch from your existing bank to another. These incentives usually grow in size based on the size of your mortgage. In most cases these incentives are big enough to cover the costs of breaking your existing loan agreement mid-term, cover any legal fees, and still leave cash in your hand. This means that by using our services you not only get a better loan, but there’s every chance that refinancing will put cash in your hand as well.

Refinance Drawbacks

However, when assessing whether refinancing is going to benefit you, it is important to consider the financial costs involved. Examples of these are included below:

Mortgage Exit Fees

Deferred establishment and settlement fees
Early repayment costs (fixed rate loans break fee). This is sometimes called a prepayment penalty
Repayment of any cash incentives, if any.

Lending Entry Fees

Legal costs. For example, a solicitor for conveyancing, LIM reports
Valuation fee
Application fee
Duties and taxes
Lenders' mortgage insurance (LMI) fee if the LVR is over 80%.

All fees will vary depending on your loan size, lender, the term left on your mortgage and the type of loan that you owe. To determine whether it’s worthwhile to refinance, you need to evaluate the pros and cons that come along with refinancing an existing mortgage to ensure the net benefit outweighs the costs. This is where a financial adviser (commonly called a mortgage broker) can assist.

Next Steps. Should You Refinance Your Mortgage?

Here at Become Wealth, we'll only recommend refinancing when it genuinely suits you and the benefits outweigh the costs. From experience, we know banks are usually much more eager to please their new clients than their existing ones. This creates a situation where refinancing can result in great offers from New Zealand's leading banks.

Assistance from us to refinance your existing lending is usually free to you, as we'll be paid by the lender. To be transparent, we'll also inform you about it in writing, and as we pay all staff a salary instead of commission, you know we're truly working in your best interests.

We make the process of refinancing your home loan as simple as possible for you. As we’ll take time to understand your situation and explore the options, and only recommend refinancing if it suits you, with thousands of dollars at stake, what have you got to lose?

For a complimentary, no-obligation exploratory chat with a financial adviser (mortgage broker) about refinancing your existing lending, leave your details below.

Book Your Refinancing Consultation

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