Understanding the Basics of Refinancing Multiple Properties

Refinancing several properties works best when you review every loan as one portfolio, not as separate decisions. A change to one loan can affect the security, borrowing capacity and cashflow of the others.

For Richmond clients who hold an investment or two alongside a home, the question is rarely just about rate. It is about structure, and whether each loan still has a clear job to do.

How Does Refinancing Multiple Properties Work?

Refinancing multiple properties means moving some or all of your loans to a new lender, or restructuring them with your current one, after assessing them together. The lender values each property, reviews your income and debts, and decides how much it will lend against the combined position.

Each loan is usually either refinanced on its own or grouped with others under one lender. The main risk to weigh arises when loans are cross-secured. In that case the lender can have a claim over several properties, and selling or refinancing one property may need the lender's approval. Whether this applies depends on how the loans are structured.

Our mortgage refinancing team starts with a loan health check of every loan, so we can see which ones are working and which are not.

When Is the Right Time to Refinance a Property Portfolio?

The right time is usually when a fixed rate period is ending, your property values or income have changed, or a loan no longer matches its purpose. Waiting for a rate cut alone is not a plan.

A fixed rate expiry is a natural review point, because many loans revert to a variable rate that may be higher than what other lenders offer. Our fixed rate expiry calculator shows what a change in rate could mean for your repayments.

Refinancing has costs. Exit fees, application fees, and in some cases lenders mortgage insurance can reduce or cancel out a rate saving. Ask for these to be priced in before you decide.

Consider a Richmond Investor With Three Loans

As an example, consider an investor with a home loan and two investment loans, each with a different lender. One investment loan has come off a fixed rate, and the other two have no offset account.

The situation: the investor pays more interest than needed on the expired loan and has idle savings sitting in a transaction account. Each lender also holds a separate view of the investor's position, which makes any new purchase harder to plan.

The solution: after a review, the broker compares lenders for each loan. The expired fixed loan moves to a lender offering a lower variable rate. The home loan stays put because its exit costs outweigh any saving. The second investment loan moves too, with an offset account attached so the idle savings reduce the interest charged.

To show the numbers, assume an illustrative rate of 6.75% p.a. On a $500,000 loan, interest for a year is about $33,750 if nothing is paid off. If an offset account holds $50,000, interest is charged on $450,000 instead, which is about $30,375. That is a difference of about $3,375 a year at that same illustrative rate. Actual savings depend on your lender, rate and balance.

The outcome: two loans are restructured, one is left alone on purpose, and the investor now has lower interest costs on those two loans, plus a cleaner picture of their borrowing position.

Releasing Equity Across Several Properties

You can release equity from one property to fund a deposit on another, provided the lender agrees that your income and overall debt can support the larger borrowing. Equity is the gap between what a property is worth and what you owe on it.

Lenders usually limit borrowing to a percentage of a property's value, so a property valuation is a sensible early step. Our page on refinancing to release equity explains the approach in more detail.

The risk is that borrowing against one property increases your total debt, and repayments rise with it. If the new purchase sits empty or rent falls short, you carry the gap. Repayment strain is worth testing against a higher rate before you commit.

Why Your Borrowing Capacity Matters Before You Refinance

Your borrowing capacity decides whether a refinance across multiple properties will be approved, and it can change when loans are restructured. Lenders assess each debt, including credit card limits, when they work out what you can afford.

A loan that looks cheaper on rate may assess poorly because of how the lender treats rental income or existing debts. Check where you stand with our borrowing capacity tool before you apply. A formal application creates a credit enquiry on your file whether or not it is approved, so it helps to apply only when you are confident of the outcome.

If you want to keep growing, an investment loan refinance can be set up with the next purchase in mind, not only the current loans.

Does Your Accountant Need to Be Involved?

Yes, because the way loans are structured can affect how interest is treated for tax. Interest on a loan is generally deductible only when the borrowed money is used to produce income, and mixing personal and investment purposes in one loan can complicate that.

This is general information only. Speak with your accountant about your own situation before you restructure, as tax outcomes depend on your circumstances and are not certain.

Working With a Richmond Mortgage Broker

A broker who knows your whole position can compare options across lenders and show you the costs next to the savings. Our Richmond mortgage broker team reviews each loan on its own merits, and sometimes the right advice is to leave a loan where it is.

Call one of our team or book an appointment at a time that works for you, and we will review every loan in your portfolio together before recommending a single change.

Frequently Asked Questions