Loan review
The loan you signed is not always the loan you need five years later. Check what has drifted before deciding whether anything needs to change.
A home loan review, also called a loan health check, is a structured look at whether the loan you already have still fits your rate, repayments, term, features, equity and plans. It is not a refinance application and it does not commit you to switching. Common outcomes include staying put, asking your current lender to reprice, restructuring, or comparing other lenders with a broker.
Everything else in the refinance process depends on this first step being honest. Costs, documents and lender comparisons only matter if the review finds something worth changing.
Gather the current rate, repayment, term, structure, features and equity position. This is the whole job of this page.
No account is needed and nothing is decided online.A sharper rate, lower repayments, equity access, debt restructuring and a fixed expiry each point to a different next check.
One goal at a time keeps the comparison honest.Discharge, application, valuation and government fees, plus any fixed break cost, decide whether a change is worth it.
Benefits should outweigh the costs of switching.Income evidence, statements, debts and property details, so any application reflects your position accurately.
Send documents through secure broker or lender channels only.Only if changing still makes sense. The lender assesses your file and property before anything is final.
All lending remains subject to lender assessment.A loan that fit well at settlement can stop fitting quietly. Rates move, savings build, fixed periods end, debts change and plans shift. Checking each part separately shows you where the drift actually is, instead of guessing from the rate alone.
Your rate tracks what your lender offers new customers, and no package fee is paying for features you never touch.
The rate has drifted above new-customer offers, or an annual fee buys an offset account that sits unused.
The repayment fits your cash flow and the remaining term matches when you actually want the loan finished.
Repayments feel tight every month, or a past refinance quietly reset the loan to a fresh long term.
Savings sit in offset or redraw and genuinely reduce the interest being charged.
Savings sit in a separate account earning less than the loan is costing, or the feature was never set up.
The balance has fallen while the property value held or grew, which widens your options.
You do not know the equity position, or equity under 20 percent means lenders mortgage insurance could apply to a new loan.
Cards, car loans and other repayments are stable, with limits that reflect what you actually need.
Several repayment dates crowd the month, or credit limits have crept up since the loan was set.
No fixed period ends soon, and the next few years look like the last few.
A fixed rate ends within the year, or renovating, investing, selling or consolidating is on the horizon.
One flag does not mean refinance. It means that part of the loan has earned a proper look before you decide anything.
Most of the review is finding eight facts you already have. They live on your loan statement, in your banking app or in the loan offer you signed. With these in front of you, any conversation about the loan gets specific instead of general.
Current interest rate and the comparison rate on your loan.
Loan statement or banking app. The comparison rate is on your loan offer or the lender's rate page.Repayment amount and repayment frequency.
Banking app, or the direct debit leaving your account.Remaining loan term in years.
Loan statement, or ask the lender. It is often not the number you remember.Fixed, variable or split structure, and any fixed expiry date.
Loan contract, or the rate detail in your banking app.Offset or redraw balance and how often you use it.
Offset and redraw balances in your banking app.Estimated property value and current loan balance.
Recent local sales for the value, loan statement for the balance.Ongoing fees, and the discharge or break costs to leave.
The lender's fee schedule. Exact break costs need a written quote from the lender.Future plans such as renovating, investing, selling or restructuring debt.
This one is yours. Note anything that could change the loan within five years.Refinancing is one possible result of a review, not the purpose of it. Staying put, asking your current lender to sharpen the rate, restructuring, preparing documents or simply waiting can each be the sensible answer, depending on costs and timing.
The loan still fits on rate, fees, features and term, and the cost of changing would outweigh the benefit.
When it fits: Common when the loan is recent, the rate is competitive and no plans have changed.
Your current lender may reduce the rate to keep your business. It avoids switch costs, but the offer still needs comparing.
When it fits: Worth asking when your rate has drifted above what the same lender offers new customers.
How to compare a rate properlySame debt, different shape. Splits, offset, repayment type or term changes can fix a structure problem without a new lender.
When it fits: Useful when the problem is cash flow, features or flexibility rather than the rate itself.
Repayment options and trade-offsA full refinance comparison across rate, fees, features, break-even timing and loan term, not just the headline number.
When it fits: Worth the effort when repricing falls short and the likely benefit clears the switching costs.
Check refinance costs firstSometimes the review shows the goal is right but the file is not ready. Getting documents in order comes before applying anywhere.
When it fits: Common for self-employed borrowers, recent job changes or income that needs more evidence.
See the document checklistSelling soon, a large fixed break cost or unsettled income can make waiting the cheaper move. Set a date to look again.
When it fits: Sensible when timing works against you now but the picture changes within the year.
Make the review annualBefore you rely on any number
The longer a loan runs, the more interest it costs in total. If a review leads to a new loan, compare it over a term close to the years you have left, not a fresh long term.
Each tool answers one review question as an estimate only. None of them are approval, credit advice or a loan recommendation.
Common questions
No. A useful review checks whether staying, repricing with your current lender, restructuring or comparing lenders may be worth considering. Staying put is a legitimate outcome when the loan still fits and the cost of changing would outweigh the benefit.
Many borrowers review annually, and sooner when something changes: rates move, a fixed period approaches its end, income or debts change, savings build up, or plans like renovating or moving appear.
A recent loan statement covers most of it: rate, repayment, balance and term. Add your fixed expiry date if you have one, a rough property value estimate, your other debts and credit limits, and any plans that could change the loan. Nothing needs to be perfect to start.
Yes, and it is often the first thing worth testing because it avoids switching costs. MoneySmart suggests telling your lender you are considering a cheaper loan elsewhere, since lenders may reduce the rate to keep your business. The repriced offer still needs comparing against fees, features and the wider market.
Sometimes. Rate is one of several parts that drift. Package fees for features you no longer use, a repayment type that no longer matches your cash flow, an offset account sitting empty, or a loan term that quietly stretched at the last refinance can all cost money at a competitive rate.
Mostly the lender-side picture: how different lenders would assess your income and debts, what pricing can be requested from your current lender, how a valuation is likely to land, and what the real switching costs would be. A broker can also run the repricing request and comparison work for you. You can always ask how a broker is paid.
Whether any loan suits you. That takes a full assessment of your situation against lender criteria, an actual valuation, written break cost quotes from your lender, and advice boundaries this page respects: tax questions belong with a tax adviser and settlement or contract questions with a conveyancer or solicitor.
General information only. It does not account for your personal circumstances. Guidance on this page was checked against official Australian sources:
Broker review
Share the goal, timing and current-loan basics through Quick Check so a broker can pick up the review where this page stops. General information and intake only. No credit decision happens online, and any lending is subject to lender assessment.
