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Home Loans

Refinancing Your Home Loan

If it’s been a few years since you looked at your home loan, there’s a good chance it’s no longer the best deal available to you. Refinancing,  moving your loan to a better product or lender, can lower your repayments, unlock the equity you’ve built, or simply give you a loan that fits your life today. At Better Borrowing, Penrith-based broker Ben Leyshon compares 40+ lenders to see whether refinancing genuinely leaves you better off. In most cases, there’s no cost to you.

We help homeowners and investors right across Western Sydney work out whether now is the right time to refinance, and handle the whole switch if it is.

Reasons People Refinance Their Home Loan

Refinancing isn’t only about chasing a lower rate. Here are the most common reasons Western Sydney homeowners come to us:

  • To get a lower interest rate, even a small rate reduction can save thousands over the life of a loan, and loyalty rarely gets rewarded by the banks. Existing customers are often on higher rates than new ones.
  • To reduce monthly repayments, easing pressure on the household budget, either through a better rate or by restructuring the loan.
  • To access equity (cash-out), using the equity you’ve built in your home to fund a renovation, buy an investment property, consolidate debt, or cover a major expense.
  • To consolidate debt, rolling higher-interest debts (credit cards, personal loans, car loans) into your home loan to simplify repayments and reduce the overall interest rate, where it makes sense. (Spreading short-term debt over a long loan term can increase the total interest paid, we’ll model this honestly before recommending it.)
  • To switch from interest-only to principal-and-interest (or vice versa), as your circumstances or strategy change.
  • To fix, split or add an offset, locking in certainty with a fixed rate, hedging with a split loan, or adding an offset account to reduce interest.
  • To remove or add a borrower, for example after a relationship change.
  • Because their fixed rate is ending, rolling off a fixed term is the perfect moment to review rather than drift onto the lender’s default revert rate.

Is refinancing worth it? What to weigh up.

Refinancing has costs as well as benefits, and the honest answer is that it isn’t always worth it, which is exactly why a no-obligation review is useful:

  • The savings vs the costs, there can be discharge fees on your old loan and setup costs on the new one. We’ll work out whether the savings outweigh them.
  • Your equity position, how much equity you have affects your options and whether you’d pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance again.
  • Your goals, the “best” loan isn’t always the cheapest; it’s the one that fits what you’re trying to do.

Cross-link: Refinancing to release equity is one of the most common ways to fund a deposit, see Investment Loans. Many of the same homeowners first bought with our help, see First Home Buyer Loans.

How It Works In 4 Simple Steps

  1. Book a free strategy call. Tell us about your current loan and what you’d like to achieve. 15 minutes, no obligation.
  2. We review your current loan. We compare what you’ve got against what’s available across 40+ lenders, and we’ll tell you honestly whether switching is worth it.
  3. We handle the switch. If refinancing stacks up, we manage the application, paperwork and the move from your old lender to the new one.
  4. We keep an eye on it. A good loan today might not be the best in two years, we’re here to review it again down the track.

Why Better Borrowing?

  • Access to 40+ lenders, we compare the market, not one bank’s range, so you can see how your current loan really stacks up.
  • Honest advice, bound by Best Interests Duty, we’ll tell you if refinancing isn’t worth it for you. We’d rather keep your trust than push a switch.
  • We handle the hassle, refinancing involves paperwork and coordinating two lenders; we manage it so you don’t have to.
  • Local and experienced, Ben is Penrith-based with 10+ years in financial services.
  • No cost to you in most cases, we’re paid by the lender when your loan settles.
  • 5.0 Google rating from clients across Western Sydney.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I refinance my home loan?
A good time to refinance is when your current rate is no longer competitive, when a fixed-rate period is ending, when you want to access equity, or when your financial goals have changed. As a general guide, it’s worth reviewing your home loan every one to two years, because lenders frequently offer better rates to new customers than to existing ones. A free review will tell you whether switching is actually worth it for you.
How much does it cost to refinance?
Refinancing can involve a discharge fee on your existing loan and setup or application costs on your new loan, which vary by lender. In many cases the savings from a better rate outweigh these costs, but not always, which is why we calculate the real numbers for your situation before recommending a switch.
Can I access the equity in my home by refinancing?
Yes. If your property has increased in value or you’ve paid down your loan, refinancing can let you access that equity as cash, commonly used to renovate, buy an investment property, consolidate debt, or cover a major expense. How much you can access depends on your property’s value, your remaining loan balance, and your borrowing capacity.
Will refinancing hurt my credit score?
Applying to refinance involves a credit enquiry, which can have a small, temporary effect on your credit score, and making many applications in a short period can compound this. Working with a broker helps, because we match you to the lender most likely to approve you rather than you applying to several lenders yourself.
Does it cost anything to use a broker to refinance?
In most cases there’s no cost to you, because the lender pays the broker a commission when your loan settles. If a fee ever applied, we’d tell you upfront and you’d have to agree before any work began.
Should I consolidate my debts into my home loan?
Consolidating higher-interest debts into your home loan can reduce your overall interest rate and simplify repayments to a single monthly amount, which helps some households. The trade-off is that spreading a short-term debt over a 25- or 30-year loan term can increase the total interest you pay, even at a lower rate. We’ll model both before recommending anything, so you can decide with the full picture.
How long does refinancing take?
Refinancing typically takes a few weeks from application to settlement, depending on the lender, the complexity of your situation, and how quickly valuations and paperwork are completed. We manage the process and keep it moving so you’re not chasing anyone.

General information only. Leybel Consulting Pty Ltd (ABN 90 660 320 632) trading as Better Borrowing, Credit Representative [542864 — confirm], is authorised under Australian Credit Licence 389328 [Connective Credit Services Pty Ltd]. This page provides general information only and has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider whether it is appropriate for your circumstances; your full situation will need to be reviewed before any offer or product is accepted. It does not constitute legal, tax or financial advice. All loan products are subject to lender terms and conditions, fees and charges, and eligibility criteria.

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Disclaimer

Leybel Consulting Pty Ltd (90 660 320 632) trading as Better Borrowing (542864) is authorised under Australian Credit Licence 389328. Disclaimer statement: This page provides general information only and has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. We recommend that you consider whether it is appropriate for your circumstances and your full financial situation will need to be reviewed prior to acceptance of any offer or product. It does not constitute legal, tax or financial advice and you should always seek professional advice in relation to your individual circumstances. Each application is subject to lenders terms and conditions, fees and charges and eligibility criteria apply.