Refinancing Your Home Loan

Stage 6: Property Valuation

Getting property valuation done prior to refinance is important to ensure that you have enough equity in your property. You want to make sure that you have at least 20% equity in your property. Otherwise, you will be required to pay lenders mortgage insurance (LMI). This will add considerable cost to your refinance.

Getting an appraisal from a real estate agent is different from getting a property valuation. An appraisal is not a legally biding document and cannot be used when you apply for refinance. While both determine the market value of your property, a valuation is undertaken by a professional valuer who is appointed by a lender.

Valuers are professionals who evaluate your property on predetermined principles and guidance, providing an unbiased view of the property’s worth to the lenders. In general, a valuer looks at the property type and size, it’s age, condition and geographical locations. Zoning restrictions also affect the overall value of a property.

Following tips may potentially help with the value of your property:

• Ensure that the property is well presented
• Introduce plenty of storage space in the house
• Keep the house and lawn clean and clutter-free

Some lenders offer free valuation through a mortgage broker prior to you refinancing your loan. Some lenders provided paid valuation option prior to you refinancing your loan. If none of these options available, you could obtain appraisal from a few experienced local real estate agents and determine the average value of the house to make informed decisions.

We’re here to help you

Dealing with banks can be a stressful experience but rest assured that our mortgage broker based in Glenelg (but our mortgage broker services the entire Adelaide Metropolitan area) can help you make the right decision about your mortgage. We will guide you at every stage of your loan process.

Contact us on 08 8376 0455 or drop into our office at 593 Anzac Highway, Glenelg SA 5045.

Next Stage

Stage 7: Apply for a New Loan

Any advice contained in this article is of a general nature only and does not take into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular person. Therefore, before making any decision, you should consider the appropriateness of the advice with regard to those matters. Information in this article is correct as of the date of publication and is subject to change.