Is Refinancing Worth It for You?
Enter four numbers. The check shows your loan-to-value ratio, the equity you could access at 80%, what a lower rate would save, and how quickly the switching costs come back. Nothing is sent anywhere unless you ask John to review it.
Estimates only. Repayments use a standard principal and interest formula with monthly repayments. The check does not know your income, expenses, credit history or your lender's valuation, and it is not an offer of credit or personal advice. All lending is subject to lender assessment.
How Does the Refinance Health Check Work?
The check runs four calculations in your browser from the figures you enter:
- Loan-to-value ratio (LVR): your loan balance divided by your property value. At or under 80%, lenders mortgage insurance does not normally apply to a refinance.
- Equity accessible at 80%: 80% of your property value, less what you owe. This is the amount that could be released without LMI, subject to a lender's valuation and your borrowing capacity.
- Savings at a lower rate: your repayment is calculated with the standard principal and interest formula, then recalculated at rates 0.25%, 0.50% and 0.75% lower.
- Break-even: the number of months for each saving to recover $1,000 of switching costs, a mid-range figure for NSW (see refinance costs and fees in NSW).
What Counts as a Healthy Result?
As a general guide, refinancing tends to be worth pursuing when the LVR is at or under 80%, the loan is variable or the fixed term has ended, and a realistic rate reduction recovers the costs in under about 18 months. Larger balances recover costs faster because the same rate cut is worth more dollars.
If your result shows an LVR above 80%, a fixed rate still running, or a long break-even, the better first move is usually a reprice with your current lender. See repricing vs refinancing and refinancing with less than 20% equity.
What Does the Check Not Tell You?
- The actual rate you would be offered, which depends on the lender, your LVR and the loan type.
- Whether you pass a lender's serviceability test, which depends on income, expenses and other debts (see mortgage prison and refinancing on a PAYG salary).
- The lender's valuation of your property, which can differ from your estimate (see low valuation on a refinance).
- Any fixed-rate break cost, which only your lender can quote.
Those are the parts John checks for you, at no cost, when you send him the result.
How Is This Different From Other Refinance Calculators?
Many refinance "estimates" online are contact forms: you enter your details and wait for a call. This one shows every number on the page before you share anything. If you want the detail behind a single figure, use the refinance savings calculator, the break-even calculator, the equity calculator or the fixed rate expiry calculator.
What Happens After You Send Your Result?
John calls you, usually within the hour in business hours. He asks your current lender for a reprice, compares that against 50+ lenders, and tells you plainly whether staying or switching leaves you better off. If you go ahead, your rate is then reviewed every six months for as long as you hold the loan. The full process is in the refinancing guide.
General information only. It does not take your objectives, financial situation or needs into account. All lending is subject to lender assessment and approval. Fees and figures are typical ranges at 14 November 2026 and can change. Lend & Loan, Australian Credit Licence 511092.
