Refinancing Calculator

Refinancing means ending your existing home loan package with your current bank and carrying on your repayments with another bank that offers a better loan package.

Repricing a home loan is similar to refinancing except that when you do repricing, you stay with the same bank and switch to a new loan package that they offer you.

Whenever you want to refinance, you’ll have to pay legal costs and valuation fees which could total around $2,000 to $3,000. In addition, some banks have a lock-in clause that lasts from 2 - 5 years. If you refinance within the lock-in period, you will be charged a penalty fee, typically about 1.5% of your outstanding loan amount. However, banks can give subsidies for legal and valuation charges incurred in refinancing. If your loan amount is above $300,000 (for HDB) or $500,000 (for private property), your new bank would subsidize approximately $1,800 and $2,000 respectively. Subsidies can go higher if your loan amount is ”big”.

Traditionally, you can approach banks and financial institutions individually to get their current home loan rates and bankers can help you refinance. Another way to do it is to call MoneySmart’s mortgage specialists, who will be able to compare home loans from across all the major providers in Singapore and give you a neutral, unbiased recommendation on the best home loan.

Typically, home loan interest rates spike from the 3rd year. You should always be on the lookout once your lock-in period is over as the best rates given are within the lock-in period. So it makes sense to refinance to another home loan package at that time to avoid high interest rates.

Refinancing does not really hurt your credit score, payment history and promptness affect the credit score. If you are refinancing your mortgage loan every 2-3 years and making repayments consistently after refinancing, there should not be a negative impact.