Promoted by loans.com.au
If you already have an SMSF loan on your investment property, you’re probably stuck with an uncompetitive rate and high fees. Interest rates on SMSF loans can be as high as 6%.
You may have thought about refinancing to take advantage of a better deal, but considering there aren’t many lenders who offer SMSF loans in the market, is refinancing worth it?
Why refinance an SMSF loan?
The biggest benefit of refinancing an SMSF home loan is exactly the same as refinancing any other type of loan - to get a better interest rate so you can save money on the loan. If your current SMSF loan has a high interest rate and there are similar loans available on the market offering lower rates, refinancing to a lower rate SMSF loan could save you thousands more to put towards your retirement, helping you build your retirement wealth quicker. Our SMSF loan has a competitive 3.69% p.a. (3.70% p.a. comparison rate).
Other benefits of refinancing include getting an SMSF loan that offers better features or more flexibility than your current SMSF loan provides. Our SMSF loan has no monthly or ongoing fees, unlimited extra repayments, and online access via our easy to use online app Smart Money.
What to consider before refinancing your SMSF loan
Because SMSF loans are slightly more complex beasts than your average loan, there are a few important things you need to consider before refinancing, including:
- ATO requirements: According to The Australian Taxation Office (ATO), you can’t increase the amount you’re borrowing against the property when refinancing an SMSF loan. You also can’t refinance to improve the property through renovations but repairs are allowed. The ATO has a few more requirements around refinancing SMSF loans so it’s recommended to talk to an expert.
- Terms and conditions: SMSF loans come with a lot of terms and conditions attached so it’s important to read the fine print carefully. These terms and conditions can include the minimum amount of funds required to be held in the SMSF, details about the purchase of the property, and more.
- Interest rate, fees, and charges: SMSF loans typically come with more fees than an ordinary home loan. Before you make the switch, shop around and compare the rates, fees and charges offered by a range of lenders. You should also consider whether switching to an SMSF loan with a fixed or variable rate could save you money, and how much you could potentially save in fees by refinancing. What fees currently apply to your SMSF loan? We don’t charge any monthly, annual, or ongoing fees.
- Benefits of refinancing versus the cost: It can be expensive to refinance an SMSF loan, with application, settlement, and legal fees. However, our SMSF loan has no application or settlement fees.
- The time it will take to refinance: Refinancing an SMSF loan can take longer than refinancing a traditional home loan because there’s a lot more paperwork involved. Ask yourself if the benefits of refinancing your SMSF loan will outweigh the time it will take.
How to refinance your SMSF loan
If you’ve weighed up all of the above information and decided that refinancing your SMSF loan would be worthwhile, ensure you’re eligible and get all your documents ready.
Eligibility criteria
- Borrowing up to 80% of the value of the property, which means the entire cost to switch/refinance your loan must be no more than this amount.
- The property you’re buying using an SMSF loan must be a standard residential property in a metro location.
- You typically will need to have between 10-20% of the property value in liquid assets after settlement.
- The new loan can’t be any more or less than the current loan amount and has to have a loan term of between 15 and 30 years.
- Your current loan must be more than one year old with on-time repayments for the last six months.
Documents
- SMSF trust deed.
- Custodian trust deed.
- Latest super fund statement prior to the establishment of your SMSF.
- The last two years of audited SMSF annual returns.
- An accountant’s letter confirming the company trustee is not trading.
- The last two years financial reports.
- The last two years of income tax returns on all related entities.
- Fund income tax and regulatory return.
--------------------------------------------------
Marie Mortimer is Managing Director of loans.com.au, one of Australia's largest online lenders. Since Marie started the business more than 10 years ago, Marie has grown loans.com.au into a company with $6 billion worth of home and car loans. Marie is dedicated to improving financial literacy for all Australians and is passionate about the FinTech industry in Australia. When she isn't at work, she loves to spend time with her husband and two young children.
loans.com.au is an online lender for home and car loans. For more than 10 years, Aussies have trusted the locally based loans.com.au team to support them with low home loan and car loan rates, approved quickly through the online loans.com.au app.
