Step one: find the gap
Take your current rate off your latest statement. Then take your loan balance and the property’s rough current value, and divide the first by the second. That percentage, the LVR, decides which pathways are open to you before price enters the conversation at all.
Indicative residential ranges as at 23 August 2026, by pathway type:
| Pathway type | From | Lends to |
|---|---|---|
| Standard refinance | 6.89% p.a. | 80% LVR |
| Express refinance | 6.94% p.a. | 80% LVR |
| High-LVR refinance | 7.49% p.a. | 90% LVR |
| Credit-impaired refinance | 7.99% p.a. | 80% LVR |
A gap of less than about half a per cent rarely survives the switching costs on a smaller balance. On a larger balance it can. That is what step two is for.
Step two: count the real cost of moving
Switching an SMSF loan is not free, and the figure people quote each other is usually missing something. The components, with indicative amounts as at 23 August 2026:
- Discharge fee on your current loan, around $450. Charged by the lender you are leaving.
- Legal and valuation on the new loan, around $1,800. SMSF legals cost more than ordinary ones because the bare trust has to be reviewed.
- Application fee, from $0 on the standard pathway. Several lenders were waiving this into late 2026.
- Any early-repayment fee on your existing loan. This is the one most often forgotten, it is not included in the figures above, and on deadline-era loans it is commonly 2 per cent within the first three years.
On a typical file the first three come to roughly $2,250. An early-repayment fee can double that, which is why it is worth reading your loan contract before anything else.
Step three: work out the break-even month
Break-even is the honest number, and it is simple arithmetic: total switching costs divided by the monthly saving, rounded up. If moving costs $2,250 and saves $400 a month, you are square in month six and ahead after that.
Two habits keep this honest. Use the conservative end of the rate range rather than the headline “from” figure, because your actual rate depends on assessment. And check the break-even against how long you expect to hold the property, since a break-even beyond that horizon is not a saving.
How we worked this out
- Break-even = total switching costs ÷ monthly saving, rounded up to the next whole month.
- Monthly saving compares your current repayment with an indicative new repayment at the same balance and term.
- It ignores future rate movements, fee changes, and tax treatment inside the fund.
- Early-repayment fees on your current loan are not included unless you add them.
- Figures are indicative estimates only, not a quote, not pre-approval, and not advice.
The calculator runs all three steps on your own numbers and shows the switching costs before it shows a saving.
Read the rest of the guide
The remaining sections work through the switching-cost model, the break-even calculation, the questions worth asking your current lender, and the paperwork that slows applications down.
- A worked switching-cost example with the maths shown
- What to ask your current lender before you move
- The document list, and the two items that cause most delays