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Buying a home is a decision that will affect you for many years to come. You will likely be paying off your home for 20 years or more. Many people choose to stick with their original bond and pay it off steadily for the full term of the loan. However, it is wise to remember that there are other options available to homeowners who have only paid a portion of their bond. One such option is a refinance bond.
There are several advantages to switching to a refinance bond. But it is essential to consult a reputable home loan provider such as SA Home Loans before making this important decision. Continue reading to discover the advantages of switching to a refinance bond, and some pertinent factors to consider before refinancing your home.
With assistance from an experienced home loan specialist, you can take advantage of the benefits offered by a refinance bond. These include:
Home loans take many years to pay off and several changes could occur while you are paying off your bond. Interest rates are known to fluctuate, and while a fixed interest rate can protect you from rising interest rates, you are unable to benefit when they go down. If your interest rate is fixed, it is possible that you will find another home loan option with a lower interest rate than your original one.
Moreover, home loan providers are constantly in competition with each other and you may be able to find a reputable bond provider that offers lower interest rates than your current provider. Because homes are such a large purchase, a lower interest rate could save you thousands of rands by the time you have paid off your entire bond.
By choosing a refinance loan with lower interest rates or by extending the term of your loan, you could greatly reduce your monthly payments. This will increase your disposable income and you could use the additional money to improve your standard of living or pay for your children’s education, for example.
Buying a home is an excellent investment opportunity. This is because property appreciates in value as it ages - provided that it is well-maintained. Therefore, if you have owned your home for several years, it is likely that its value has increased significantly since you purchased it.
Equity is the difference between the realistic market value of your property and the outstanding balance of your bond. By refinancing your bond, you are able to access your home’s accumulated equity. This is particularly useful if you intend to renovate your property and increase its value even further.
Many people choose to refinance their home to reduce their monthly payments by extending the term of their home loan. While this can offer impressive savings in the short-term, the long term effects of a refinance bond should also be taken into account.
Extending the term of a bond means that you will pay it off over a longer period than before. However, you must consider that you will be paying interest for the additional years. While the additional amount may seem insignificant on a monthly basis, it compounds into a substantial total.
There are generally two types of interest rates that apply to bonds: Fixed and variable. Fixed interest rates protect homeowners from unexpected interest rate hikes, as bond repayments will remain the same even if prime rate changes. By contrast, variable interest rates fluctuate with the bank repo rate and can change over the period of the loan. While variable interest rates are usually lower initially, they could rise significantly in the future.
SA Home Loans offers a unique product called Varifix which combines both variable and fixed rate options into one product, so you can choose what percentage of your bond you would like to fix. In addition, with this product your fixed rate is reassessed every 5 years, and if the fixed rate has dropped, your fixed rate will also drop. But if it has increased, your fixed rate stays at the lowest level set.
If you are unsure which interest rate structure is best for you, consult one of our refinance loan specialists. SA Home Loans also allows you to switch between several of our home loan options without being charged. Therefore, as your circumstances change, you have the option of changing the interest structure of your loan.
Low interest rates are a very attractive reason to switch to a refinance bond. However, in order to benefit from low interest rates, consider how long it will take you to break even.
You will likely pay several different fees when refinancing your home. It is recommended that you compare the expenses of refinancing with your expected savings. If you plan on selling your home in the near future, make sure that you will break even before the sale goes through or refinancing could cause you to lose money.
SA Home Loans refinance specialists are knowledgeable in refinance bonds and can advise you on whether you will benefit from home refinancing. Use our refinance bond calculator to see how much you can save by switching your bond to SA Home Loans.