If i want to refinance my housing loan from hdb to a dbs housing loan, should i use redbrick or go to dbs directly? What are the pros and cons? we are paying 711/mth with 15years left. 110k balance?

I just approached a few mortgage brokers and a bank to compare the rate packages before refinancing from HDB to DBS bank loan.

Personally, I feel that it helps for someone with non finance background to hear from mortgage brokers first on breaking down the types of interest rates (floating, fixed etc) and the additional charges involved for converting.

Mortgage broker makes it very structured. I went to DBS bank directly with the documents to enquire and they act upon it quite fast. They even offered me a package that the mortgage broker had told me that it's not possible bcoz my outstanding loan was <200k and the DBS Home Specialist appealed to allow for some buffer if loan amt are not too way off from the min 100k / 200k to take up certain packages.

However looking at your home loan of 100k, you will be able to get refinancing but I think the dilemma will be what will the interest rate be if you were to reprice or how much you will pay if you stick to the post lock-in period (2,3,5 years) when it falls below 100k so you probably need a mortgage banker to explore with you on the steps.

Hope this helps :)

DISCLAIMER: I work for Mortgage Master, a mortgage broker, so this will be a totally biased answer.

It never hurts to go to a mortgage broker first. A mortgage broker's services are free and the best ones will advise you on the best option that will help you save money in the long run. This could mean finding the best bank home loan for you, or could even mean telling you not to refinance but instead to stick to the HDB loan because the amount you can save is not worth the effort of refinancing.

For example, since your outstanding balance is about $110,000, and you only have 15 years left on your loan, it may not make sense to refinance now since you will incur upfront costs (such as legal fees and valuation fees) that a bank is unlikely to absorb due to your lower loan amount.

A good mortgage broker will be able to present these calculations to you and help you make the right decision! Mortgage brokers will also know the best bankers to handle your specific needs and to ensure that the process of refinancing (should you choose it) is a seamless one.

Once again, the mortgage broker's services are free, so it's best to consult one first before you make any decisions. But of course, as I said earlier, this is obviously a biased opinion haha

When you go straight to a bank, you probably won't get to choose which banker handles your case, and you probably will be pushed a single home loan package, and not given the choice of several.

Hope this helps!​​​