1) What’s the difference between refinancing and repricing? – When you refinance, you are taking out a loan with another institution to pay off your existing loan. Repricing, on the other hand, allows homeowners to switch to a more competitive loan package within the same institution; 2) Repricing may be a safer bet if you have changed jobs – With repricing, there is less paperwork, said Lena Teng, who leads the solutions and investment team at MoneyOwl; 3) Calculate your refinancing costs first – It is important that homeowners compare the two options in terms of cost savings, taking into account the various fees such as the penalty for exiting a lock-in; 4) What about fixed rates versus floating rates? – According to ABS, fixed-rate loans are “a good option if interest rates are low when you take out a housing loan, or if you want to budget with certainty over the initial few years of your housing loan”; 5) The savings can be substantial – “Seventy basis points will translate into S$7,000 per year from a (S$1 million) loan outstanding,” Maybank Singapore head of consumer finance Alan Yet noted.... Continue Reading