How long does it take to refinance?

Although the rewards of refinancing are well-known, many hesitate because they’re uncertain how much time is required to complete the process. How long exactly does it take to refinance?

If you’re unfamiliar with the process, you might be wondering how much time each step takes.

Now that you have all the necessary data about your current loan and required paperwork, it’s time to start looking into other potential loans. Find a suitable option that meets your expectations, then calculate its conversion costs in order to determine when switching will be profitable for you. Armed with this knowledge, make an educated decision that best works for you!

Once you have identified the loan that best fits your needs, you will enter into the next phase of refinancing. To aid in this endeavour, we’ve outlined a step-by-step guide below along with an infographic to visualise each stage of the journey.

With the Fast Track process, you can be done refinancing in a mere three days. For those who take advantage of the standard refinance procedure, however, it may take up to four weeks for completion. Not all lenders offer this speedy option; therefore when contacting them initially make sure to inquire about their estimated timeline for completing your refinancing needs.

What is the Fast Track refinancing process?

The Fast Track refinancing process is a revolutionary way of having your loan switched to a new lender in only three days! It’s made available by lenders as an efficient and effective approach to reduce the time between you deciding to refinance, and them closing the deal. The main advantage for your old lender is that it limits their chances of encouraging you to stay with incentives – while giving YOU all the power of quickly wrapping up this tedious process without any delays or worries.

The Fast Track refinancing process considerably reduces the time it usually takes to refinance. This is accomplished by your new lender paying off what you owe on your existing loan before they receive title to your home. By eliminating back-and-forth communication between lenders, this method of refinancing saves a considerable amount of time; however, it also entails more risk for the new lender as they become out-of-pocket prior to receiving collateral for the loan.

To protect the lender from any risks associated with transferring the title of your home, they may require you to purchase title insurance. Nevertheless, in some cases, your new lender may opt to cover this cost for you. This type of policy is designed to ensure that all paperwork related to the transfer is completed without a hitch once repayment has been finalised.

What is the standard refinancing process? 

Ready to refinance? The journey begins with filling out the necessary paperwork for a loan. Once you submit it, expect to wait as your new lender contacts and negotiates with your current one before officially approving your refinancing. This could take time—anywhere from two weeks until four! Therefore, don’t be surprised if the whole process extends beyond several weeks; this is standard procedure when refinancing.

When you opt for the standard process, the lender will manage transferring both debt and property title so that your loan is settled without requiring any payment of title insurance.

Suitability talk

This initial step towards refinancing involves you reaching out to your chosen lender to have a chat about your potential suitability for the loan you are interested in. This will generally be conducted over the phone and take about 20-30 minutes. The lender will want to determine whether your employment status and financial situation will meet the serviceability criteria of the loan for which you wish to apply.

This chat is critical because the lender should be able to inform you if your loan application could potentially be rejected based on the initial data that you provide. This can prevent an inappropriate loan application and help protect your credit report from any potential knock-backs.

Sending identity and finance documentation

Once you have finished your initial conversation with the lender, they will provide a list of documents that must be sent over to confirm both your identity and financial status. This list may differ between lenders so make sure to get specifics from them beforehand. Furthermore, some may prefer written or online submissions while others might require mail delivery–ensure this is part of the discussion during your first contact in order to avoid any miscommunication later on.

Don’t wait to send off the essential documents until you have your first meeting with the lender. Instead, get them ready beforehand so that on the day following your initial contact, they can be promptly sent out and help make this part of the process significantly smooth sailing.

After the lender has reviewed your paperwork, and agrees to proceed with your application, they will arrange for a valuation of your property. This is necessary in order to calculate the loan-to-value ratio (which usually needs to be 80% or less). The appraisal can be conducted remotely or physically; depending on which option the lender opts for, this step may take varying amounts of time. Generally speaking, these procedures occur 3 days after initiating an application – however some lenders may differ slightly.

Settlement

After being granted the loan, your lender will reach out to your prior bank and complete a settlement process in order to transition both the debt and title of property. This may take anywhere from two weeks up until completion, with some fees potentially associated along the way.

Set up and discharge fees

After the settlement is completed, make sure to account for any outstanding setup and discharge fees. Discharge fee amounts range from $100-400 while setup costs can be between $300-1,000. To promote a more favourable transaction process some lenders are willing to pay these fees on your behalf!

Your new lender will cover any fees associated with switching loans and incorporate it into the total amount owed. However, if you don’t pay these upfront, they can significantly increase your interest charges over the entire loan duration. To avoid this excessive charge, we recommend making an extra payment to offset those early-term fees at once.

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