Home Loan Refinancing

Home loan refinancing is the process of applying for a new mortgage to repay an old one. It can be undertaken for a number of reasons, but there are two major ones: to reduce your monthly expenses or to give yourself access to home equity.

Home loan refinancing may seem like an arduous task to undertake yourself and it is certainly true that you should not undertake it without a clear objective in mind. However, OzWide Loans’ lending experts can offer valuable assistance in selecting the appropriate loan product for you from our panel of banks, building societies and credit unions.

Some considerations that might help you to decide if home loan refinancing is the solution for your current situation include:

Do you think you could pay off your home sooner?
Would you like to know if your lender has new products that might better suit your needs?
Is the fixed rate portion of your mortgage due to run out soon?
Do you have more than three different loans or payments (car loans, credit cards, personal loans) in addition to your mortgage?
Are you planning to renovate your home?
Do you wish to change lenders?
Are you in a position to put some extra money into your loan, either regularly or irregularly?
Would you like to invest in a property or shares?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then home loan refinancing could be for you.

Reduce your monthly expenses
It is possible that the loan you secured in the past is not the right loan for you any more. You may be paying too much interest, you may have initially opted for features that you have not needed to use, you may now have an established lending history whereas before you had to take any loan you could get, or your financial situation may have changed … whatever the case it could be time for home loan refinancing.

By consulting with an OzWide Loans lending expert we can find out which loans might suit you better. This includes looking at aspects such as the term of the loan (you may wish to reduce your loan term, or you may wish to make it longer and cut down repayments), the interest rates, the features of a home loan, and your current financial situation.

You may need to discuss consolidating your debts if they seem to have gotten ahead of you. When you are paying many different payments per month, you will find that your payments are a lot higher than if they are all in one place. This can put you in the difficult position of never being able to get ahead and struggling just to meet your repayments. A home loan will generally have a lower interest rate than a personal loan or credit card and consolidating your debts means you can actually pay them off faster and still have some extra cash in your budget at the end of the month.

Access home equity
If you are considering an investment property, you want to invest in shares, or you want to add value to your home then the built up equity in your home may be the solution for you.

Home equity is the loan to value ratio of your property - basically it is how much your home is worth against how much you owe on your home loan. If you have been repaying your mortgage for a while, and if the local property market has been rising, the chances are that you have untapped equity in your home.

To assess the current value of your home, a real estate agent can conduct an appraisal, providing a professional estimate of its value.

With this estimate you can borrow a particular amount under the loan to value ratio. This can be up to 97% of the value of your home, though your lender may require Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) for anything over 80%. (LMI is a one-off payment and can generally be included in the loan amount.)

With these funds you can build a much-needed extra bedroom, update your kitchen, add an en suite to the master bedroom, redesign your garden, put in a pool - whatever you choose.

If you are more interested in investing in another property or playing the sharemarket you can do that too. You could even buy a new car, boat or holiday.

OzWide Loans solutions
Whatever your reasons, if you are considering home loan refinancing the expert lending managers at OzWide Loans’ are more than happy to discuss your individual needs. We can access any of a panel of lenders to find the appropriate loan for you - and you will never pay a cent. Our mortgage broking services are free of charge to our clients.

For an obligation-free quote we invite you to use our online loan enquiry form or contact us to personally discuss your home loan refinancing needs.