Review your home loan
Start with your latest statement and a comparable loan offer. Check the total cost, prepare a request for your lender, then decide whether a refinance deserves a closer look.
Make the call easier
Start with a clear request
You do not need a perfect market forecast to ask what your lender can offer. Use the builder to collect the points you want confirmed in writing.
Prepare your rate-review request
Use genuine details from your loan and a comparable offer. Leave a field blank if you have not confirmed it.
Nothing is sent to a lender. These details stay in this tab.
What to gather
Seven things worth checking
- Your actual interest rate. Use the current rate on your loan, not an old approval letter. Compare offers for the same loan purpose, repayment type and approximate LVR.
- Your remaining term. A new thirty-year term may cut the repayment but increase the time spent paying interest.
- Upfront and ongoing fees. Include discharge, application and package costs. Ask for a break-cost quote if relevant.
- Your offset and redraw. Confirm the link, terms and whether the feature is covering its extra cost.
- Your property value and balance. A changed LVR can affect available options, but a lender decides the valuation it accepts.
- Upcoming loan changes. Note fixed-rate and interest-only expiry dates and the repayment that follows.
- Your household budget. Income, dependants, debts and expenses can affect both cash flow and a new lender’s assessment.
Moneysmart’s switching guide explains the importance of checking fees and the remaining term.
Work out the trade-off
Compare staying with switching
Start with the same loan balance and remaining term. For an illustrative $500,000 balance, a 0.25 percentage-point reduction is about $1,250 less interest over one year if the balance were constant. Actual savings change as the loan is repaid, so this shortcut is not a refinance quote.
Calculate interest, fees and cost recovery, then check the refinancing cost categories. A lower payment on a longer term needs a separate comparison.
If your main question is the offset, compare its rate and fees against the basic loan option. An annual package fee alone does not tell you whether the whole loan is competitive.
After the review
Keep the offer and check the change
Record the rate offered, expiry date, fees, conditions and when the change takes effect. If you accept a change, check the next statement and any offset links. If you want to refinance, gather the documents and settlement details before applying.
For ongoing comparisons, see what Ratey’s monthly rate checks cover. A comparison flags something to investigate; it is not an approval or a guarantee that another lender will accept your application.
Common questions.
Will asking for a better rate affect my credit report?
Comparing published information is different from applying for credit. Before authorising a lender or broker to proceed, ask whether they are conducting a pricing review or a credit application and whether an enquiry will be recorded.
What if my lender will not reduce the rate?
Ask for the reasons and the written terms of the best offer available to you. Compare a refinance over the same remaining term, including switching costs and eligibility. You do not need to threaten a discharge to ask for a review.
How often should I review my mortgage?
A regular review can help you keep track. Also revisit the loan before a fixed or interest-only period ends, when fees or rates change, or after a material change to your household finances.
Sources & content review
Market figures are point in time published figures, checked each time this page is reviewed.
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Keep it all in view.
Your mortgage, equity and borrowing power. Together in Ratey.