My lender is charging me a higher home loan rate than I see advertised elsewhere. Can I change lenders?

This is exactly the reason why most people change lenders. There may be a penalty clause in your current home loan, meaning you may need to pay a discharge fee, but it could still be in your financial interests to change. When shopping around it is always important to look for the comparison rate of a product. A comparison rate is essentially the true rate, taking into account the fees and charges you will pay on the loan. So even though you see a lower rate it doesn’t mean the repayments are less. AFG brokers are able to take the hassle out of this for you.

I have just come off a ‘honeymoon’ interest rate to a much higher rate. Can I move lenders or am I locked into my mortgage?

You can walk away from most mortgages, although penalty fees sometimes apply. To review your options, why not contact an AFG broker?

If I move my mortgage to a new lender, is there anything stopping that lender from increasing their rates in a few months time?

It depends what kind of product you have. If you’re concerned about rising rates, perhaps you should consider a fixed rate home loan, where repayments are fixed for a period from 1 to 5 years.

Why do some lenders charge more than others for lending the same amount of money?

Banks and other lenders pay different amounts for the money they on-lend to you, they have different overhead structures and different profit expectations. All these factors affect how much they charge to lend people money.

What documentation do I need to refinance?

The last 3 – 6 months of mortgage statements is sufficient to begin this process. An AFG broker can advise on other documentation.