Is now the time to re-finance?

Traditionally, the decision on whether or not to refinance has meant balancing the savings of a lower monthly payment against the costs of refinancing.  But in recent years, lenders have introduced many new products that offer features that were not available in the past.  You need to consider a number of factors when deciding to refinance.

Rates may have changed and it may be that you are looking for a loan that offers a lower interest rate.  If you are looking at refinancing to a lower interest rate facility you need to calculate all costs involved in the undertaking, and these include potential costs such as discharge costs, registration & other legal costs for the refinance, break costs (if you are refinancing from a fixed rate product), application costs and valuation fees.

It may be that you are unhappy with your lender and want to refinance away from them, or to access a loan product such as a salary crediting facility.

How long you expect to stay in your home is also a factor to consider.  If you’ll be moving in a few years, the month-to-month savings may never add up to the costs that are involved in refinancing.

With interest rates as low as they are at the moment, it makes sense in today’s market to consider fixing your loan, even a portion fixed and the remainder variable.  If you are considering fixing, don’t wait too long to lock in your rate.  The odds of hitting the absolute bottom of the market are very unlikely.  Trying to time the market right you may miss out on the opportunity to refinance.

The process is relatively simple.  At Mortgage Exchange we have qualified loan professionals who can take some basic information over the telephone with the process taking less than 15 minutes.

The first step is to discuss your purpose to refinance and to provide details of your current situation in terms of commitments and income.  This step involves comparing your income against your monthly debt obligations, and the details are enters into a qualifier to determine serviceability with lenders.

The next step is the interview process and during the interview Mortgage Exchange’s loan professional will want to know what goals you are attempting to accomplish, to identify the best loan product for you.

The next step will be to complete a loan application.  Once the loan application and supporting documents are submitted to the lender the information on the application is verified and valuations are ordered.  Once this information is processed, a formal loan approval will be given and the refinance process will be complete.

Mortgage Exchange specialises in analysing a home owner’s current situation to determine what truly is the best for you.  So do not hesitate to contact one of our loan consultants on 4952 9910 today.