RESOURCESCHECKLIST

Should You Refinance?

Six questions that decide whether switching is worth it — and the traps that quietly eat the saving.

4 MIN READ
01

First, the trigger

A fixed rate ending, repayments that have crept up, equity that has grown, or plans that have changed — any of these is a good reason to look. None of them obliges you to move. The point of the exercise is a clear answer, and sometimes the clear answer is stay.

02

The checklist

  • What rate are you actually paying today — not the one you remember signing?
  • What is your current lender offering new customers for the same loan?
  • What does it cost to leave — discharge fees, and break costs if you're fixed?
  • What does it cost to arrive — application, valuation and government fees?
  • Does the saving repay those costs within 18–24 months?
  • Does the new loan fit what's next — offset, redraw, the next purchase?
03

The traps that eat the saving

  • Resetting to a fresh 30-year term — the rate drops, the lifetime interest rises
  • Chasing a cashback while accepting the wrong structure
  • Never asking your current lender to reprice — often the cheapest move of all
04

How we run it

We price your loan both ways: what your lender should give you to stay, and what the market pays you to move. The repricing call comes first — if staying wins, that's the advice. If moving wins, we manage the switch end to end.

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