1. When’s the best time to action the refix?
2. When rates are rising as early as possible, but when they are dropping then as late as possible! At the moment interest rates are dropping and so we recommend waiting until the last moment to refix your loan.   One banks customers can refix well in advance and still get a lower rate if it drops, but all other banks it pays to hold out till closer to refix time.

2.    How long do I fix for?

1. Firstly, if your intention is to sell in the near future let us know. If it’s within 6 months then you wouldn’t refix, but let it drop to floating. But before you put the house on the market we need to get you pre-approved to buy again (you don’t want to find out rules have changed and you can’t buy what you want!)
2. If you want the best rate it will be longer, however the official cash rate (OCR) has just come down for the first time in a couple of years, signalling a downward trend so we are recommending fixing for 6 – 12 months as a guide.
3. Or you could split the loan and put some shorter and some longer. Remember that if you fix for a long time you don’t have flexibility to adjust repayments by much and if you sell before the time period is up you are likely to incur break fees.

3. What are my repayment choices?

1. Minimum due – most folks at the moment are going for this as the rates are higher now. However, as they have started to come down your next refix may throw up the option to keep them the same. 
2. Keep the same – If you refixed at the high rates a year ago, chances are you are being offered a lower rate now. Keeping payments the same means the extra goes straight onto paying off the loan faster. It also means that when they rise in the future you don’t need to increase as you are already paying this amount
3. Increase payments – this is a wonderful option if you can manage it and will supercharge paying off the loan. Not many folks can do this right now though.

4.  Do I want to see if I can get a green loan, or money to do renovations, or am I thinking of upgrading my home?

These things will all affect how long you fix for and we can help arrange these for you.

5. Do I have cash that I can use to reduce the loan?

1. If you do, how much cash and what account do I want it taken from.
2. You might have a revolving credit or offset account that is in credit and you can use this to reduce your fixed loan – we definitely need to talk in this case.

6. Things are really tight right, now what can I do?

Definately reach out and we can look at your structure to see if there is anything we can do to help.  With one bank you can re-draw what you have overpaid or drop the limit to match the balance which will reduce repayments.

Refix time is the best time to reach out for a quick chat to make sure you are on track.  One bank is even giving you $50 to review your loan with us!