Do you need to hit the home loan refresh button?

Do you feel like you've been locked into a home loan that has turned into an unwelcome house guest?

Whether it's your first home loan or your seventh, it can be handy to keep in mind that refinancing may provide a solution to your troubles.

Pay your loan off faster

If you want to be mortgage-free quicker, why not increase your repayments?

There is no gain without a little bit of budgetary pain, but the sacrifices you make in the short term will get you liberated from your home loan even sooner.

Another option is to increase the frequency of your repayments.

If you were to pay half your monthly repayment every two weeks instead, you'd end up making the equivalent of an extra monthly repayment each year.

That will shorten the length of your loan term and save you on interest charged too.

Find a better deal

Maybe you are in the hunt for a more competitive loan. Whether for you that means a lower interest rate or a different set of features, it may be worth considering your options.

With home loan refinancing you may be able to find a mortgage structure that is a better fit for you – either with the same lender or with another one.

A mortgage adviser can help you to assess other options and go through the sums so that you know what the pros and cons for each scenario.

Consolidate debts

If you've got other debts as well as your mortgage, consolidating them all into one easy payment could have several benefits.

It will make it much easier to keep on top of your debt repayment obligations, with just one payment date and amount.

In addition, you may be able to save on interest when you consolidate high-interest debt like credit cards.