How can home loan refinancing help me?

If you are living with a home loan, it pays to take a moment every now and then to review whether your finances are working for you – or against you.

If the latter is the case, it might be time for a change. Many Australians turn to home loan refinancing for a variety of reasons, and here are some of the most common.

Pay your loan off faster

If you fantasize about life post-mortgage, refinancing your loan can help make that dream come true even faster.

There are many ways you can do this. By switching to a lower interest rate but retaining your current monthly repayment, you'll be paying down more of the loan principal each month – meaning you'll pay off your loan quicker.

Alternatively, changing to a higher repayment amount or opting for weekly mortgage payments instead of monthly ones can have the same effect.

Fund renovations

One thing home owners can do after several years of building their stake in a property is access their equity to fund projects such as renovation or new home building.

Renovations don't just improve your living experience or fulfil long-held wishes or structural deficiencies in your house – they also boost the value of your chief asset.

Refinancing to access your equity can help you fund such projects, or other ones such as the purchase of an investment property to create a rental income.

Consolidate debts

If you are finding it hard to make repayments on credit cards, personal loans or other high interest debts, consolidating your debt can help make meeting your repayment obligations more manageable.

That's because by collecting all your debts into one payment you can save on loan fees and get a more competitive interest rate that results in you paying less each month overall.