When it comes to getting the best deal on your home loan, it doesn’t need to be hard!
We advocate that all matters regarding money should have 3 key character traits:
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It should be simple;
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It should be sustainable; and
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It should be scalable.
With these core principles in mind, we can break down the process of refinancing your home loan into 10 simple steps!
Step One: Discovery Meeting
The Discovery Meeting is the first step in achieving your property goals. We want to discover your Point A (where you are today) and your Point B (where you want to get to tomorrow). Once we have a good overall understanding of your fundamental financial and lifestyle ambitions, we can continue to the next step of the refinance process.
Depending on the level of complexity in your scenario, the Discovery Meeting can take anywhere between 15 minutes to 1 hour, and can typically be done over the phone, in a virtual meeting or in a face-to-face meeting.
Step Two: Fact Find Session
Once we have a good understanding of what you are trying to achieve, we want to take a deeper look into your current scenario to arm us with the information necessary to conduct our research and enable us to build the best strategy possible for you.
Typically, the Fact Find Session will take 30 minutes to complete and can be done over the phone, in a virtual meeting or in a face-to-face meeting. You may also need to provide support documents at this stage in order for us to achieve the best quality research on your behalf.
Step Three: Research and Strategy Creation
Now that we understand what you are seeking to achieve, and have all of the necessary information available, our team will conduct our research and construct a Finance Strategy for you. We have a robust and proven model that we adhere to that ensures we work towards the best client outcomes every single time!
Without going into too much detail, our 3 tier process to eliminating and ultimately selecting the best deal for you goes as follows:
- Out of the lenders in the open market, where does the deal best fit policy?
- Of those lenders remaining, who is going to offer our clients the best price?
- Of those lenders remaining, who is going to offer our clients the best product?
Depending on the level of complexity in your scenario, the Research and Strategy Creation phase of the process can take anywhere between 1 business day and 5 business days.
Step Four: Strategy Presentation
Once we have completed our Finance Strategy, we will present to you for review in the Strategy Presentation. At this stage, we will discuss in detail with you the strategy, and workshop any amendments to assist in optimising your strategy to suit you perfectly. Once we have agreed on the best path forward, we will move on to the next stage of the refinance process.
Typically, the Strategy Presentation will take between 15 and 30 minutes to complete and can be done over the phone, in a virtual meeting or in a face-to-face meeting.
Step Five: Support and Application Document Request
At this stage of the refinance process, we will a handful of support documents from you and a handful of lender documents to be signed also. The exact documents that are required will vary from lender to lender, and client to client, so we will prepare a detailed checklist and hold your hand during the process.
Typically, it will take between 15 minutes and 2 hours for you to gather the required support documents and sign the required application documents.
Step Six: Implementation
Once we have all of the requested support and application documents from you, our team will prepare, package and submit your application to the chosen lender. At this stage we will double check to ensure that all requested documents have been received and request that any outstanding items are provided at earliest opportunity. Also, at this stage, we will provide a discharge to the outgoing lender to ensure the begin to prepare for the refinance of your existing home loan.
Typically, we will have your application prepared, packaged and submitted to the lender 1 and 2 business days of receiving all requested documents.
Step Seven: Conditional Approval
Moving forward from submission of your application, our team will continue to work with the bank and monitor the progress of your application, providing you with updates at regular intervals as work towards conditional approval. Once we achieve conditional approval, the lender will typically require further clarifications or support documents prior to issuing unconditional approval (also known as formal approval).
Depending on the complexity of the application and the lenders current turnaround times, we typically expect to achieve conditional approval within 2 to 5 business days from submission.
Step Eight: Unconditional Approval
Also known as formal approval, once conditional approval is received from the lender, your application has passed all checks and the lender is happy to refinance your home loan. As our team works towards unconditional approval with the bank, we will provide you with updates at regular intervals.
Depending on the complexity of the application and the lenders current turnaround times, we typically expect to achieve unconditional approval within 2 to 5 business days from returning any outstanding clarifications or support documents requested at the conditional approval stage of the refinance process.
Step Nine: Mortgage Documents
Once unconditional approval (or more commonly known as formal approval) is achieved, the lender will begin preparing mortgage documents for you to sign. It should take no longer than 30 minutes to execute your mortgage documents. These are formal documents that must be wet signed and originals posted back to the lender for certification.
There is actually a couple of stages to this step in the refinance process.
For the lender to draw up the mortgage documents, it typically takes between 2 and 3 business days. When the lender sends us the mortgage documents, depending on whether they email or snail mail, it typically takes between 2 and 3 business days. Next step is for us to sign and return the original mortgage documents, which typically takes between 2 and 3 business days. Once the lender has received the mortgage documents, it typically takes them between 2 and 3 business days to certify and be in a position to settle.
So all up, the mortgage document step may take between 8 and 12 business days.
Step Ten: Settlement
For our final step, both our new lender and our old lender will arrange a time that is suitable to both parties, for them to attend a settlement. At settlement, the new lender will pay out the old lender, and your new home loan will be in place.
Typically settlement will be booked anywhere from 2 to 5 business days from when the new lender has certified the mortgage documents.
The Wrap Up!
So, that’s it. In 10 easy steps you can be securing a better deal on your home loan, accessing equity to continue growing your wealth or completing renovations to make your home the dream home!
All in all, you could get your refinance wrapped in as little as 4 weeks with a time investment on your behalf of as little as 2 hours! Excellent return on investment in my humble opinion.
