Myth 1: Refinancing takes a lot of time and effort
Technological advancements have done wonders to reduce the time and effort it takes to refinance your home loan. In some cases, pre-approval for refinancing can be given within one business day. At Macquarie, it’s just three easy steps and it all starts with a quick call to your lending specialist.
Step 1: Reach out to a Macquarie banking specialist
To get the best outcome from the discussion – make sure you have the necessary details of your current loan. This includes your current loan balance, interest rate and rate type (fixed or variable), along with your remaining payment term and payment frequency.
Your banking specialist will also need a few details on your financial circumstances – to determine early on whether your loan is likely to be successfully refinanced. They’ll want to know your income, employment details, monthly expenses and any debt you hold (including credit card balances, limits and monthly repayments).
Remember, a home loan is a lot more than a rate. Consider other loan features that might be useful to you. Some loans support offset accounts, redraw facilities and extra repayments. It’s important to understand how these features can help you reduce the amount of interest you pay over the term of your loan. Our repayments calculator allows you to run scenarios and if you want more information your lending specialist or mortgage broker can help.
Step 2: Submit your home loan application and supporting documents
Once you’ve got the conversation started, your banking specialist will work with you to package and submit your home loan application. Macquarie will need to verify your financial circumstances – so they’ll ask you to submit documents that may include:
- Your last two payslips
- PAYG summaries for the last year
- Home loan statements for the last six months of the loan you are refinancing
- If self-employed, you’ll need the last two years of tax returns and full financials for companies or trusts including your individual tax returns and notice of assessments for those corresponding years
- If it’s an investment property: most recent rental statement or your most recent year’s tax return
Don’t worry – your lending specialist will walk through the document requirements in detail with you and will ask you to upload these documents securely online, through a web and mobile based service called Ezidox.
They’ll also verify your identity at this stage. Macquarie uses a service called ZipID. ZipID arranges for an authorised representative (typically a Toll service agent) to come to your home or office at a time convenient for you to conduct an ID check.
During the application phase, Macquarie will also arrange to have your property valued. In many circumstances, a valuation can take place electronically (without the need for a valuer to visit the property in person). This is all done at no cost to you, unless the property is valued at more than $3 million.
Step 3: Loan approval and settlement
If your loan application is approved the good news is that you’re on the home-straight. Most of your loan contracts can be signed online and we’ll make the process of discharging your current home loan painless by sending you a pre-filled discharge authority. After you sign it, Macquarie will contact your current lender to complete the process. Macquarie also takes care of conveyancing.
Once your loan has been formally approved, any accounts linked to it (such as an offset account or credit card) will be opened for you and you’ll receive a Macquarie Account ID and instructions to set up your mobile and online banking profile.
If you have the documents and information ready, an approval to refinance can be completed in as little as 5 business days from the first conversation you have with your Lending Specialist. Depending on your current lender’s discharge process, you could be enjoying the savings and benefits of your Macquarie home loan within 4 weeks.