What Will It Cost to Refinance My Mortgage?
There are a number of costs and fees associated with refinancing your mortgage and it is a good idea to get the full picture before making a final decision.
To calculate at which point the benefit outweighs the costs (ie over how many months or years) ask your current lender and new lender what the applicable fees are.
Some the fees you may be faced with when refinancing your mortgage and who is charging them is listed below.
Current Lender
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New Lender
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Discharge and registration of mortgage fees
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Home loan application fee
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Deferred Establishment fee (DEF) - applies if you refinance within a certain
period of time
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Valuation fee (of the property)
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Break Costs (applicable for loans with a fixed interest rate)
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Loan-legal fees
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Registration of mortgage fees
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Settlement fee
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New stamp duty if you borrow more than your original loan (not applicable in all
states and territories)
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Generally speaking,
refinancing can cost you between
$500 and $2000+. However, if
you do your sums correctly,
refinancing out of one mortgage
and into another may save you
significantly higher amounts over
the life of your loan, with short
term pain, but longer term gain.
Exit Fees
Also known as break fees,
discharge costs, deferred
establishment fees, early
repayment fees, termination
fees, documentation costs or
administration costs, these are
standard in today's mortgage
contracts. Exit fees can apply
if you decide to refinance to a
new lender, swap from a fixed
to variable loan or repay your
mortgage before it is due. These early
repayment fees vary widely
according to the lender. It is a
good idea to read your loan
contract terms and conditions
carefully to understand which
fees will apply.
If the mortgage you are exiting has
no break costs, then you will
recoup the cost of refinancing
much quicker. Some loans (with
very low rates of interest) carry
substantial discharge fees.
In these cases, the borrower
may see a difference in their mortgage
repayments if switching to a
lower interest rate, but if costs
are built into the refinance, it can
take months or years to recoup
the discharge cost.
The exit fees can be calculated in
two ways; either as a percentage
based fee or a flat fee. There are
two types of percentage based
fees: the first is calculated as 1-2
months interest charges and the
second is a straight percentage
normally calculated on the
original loan amount or loan top
up amount (whichever is greater).
The flat fee is a straight dollar
figure applied to the mortgage loan amount.
HANDY HINT: Because exit fees
aren't included in the comparison
rate, mortgages can be made to look
cheaper than they actually are
by applying fees at the back end
rather than upfront.
Where to go from here
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