Debt restructuring:

Especially in periods of low interest rates, rescheduling a construction loan often seems to make sense. Your chance is to agree on a loan with lower interest rates and better contractual conditions. Replacing the old loan is not automatically cheaper, however! You should always check whether any costs incurred are higher than the possible savings from taking out a new loan. Under certain circumstances, the so-called "forward loan" is the more favourable alternative for you.

As already mentioned, you should pay attention to the notice periods. Basically, there are three possible conditions under which a real estate loan can be rescheduled:

1. after expiry of the fixed-interest period:

After the fixed interest period has expired, there are basically two options: Either the remaining amount of the original loan is paid back to the bank in full, or follow-up financing is applied for. By the way, follow-up financing with the same credit institution is called a prolongation. In most cases, however, it is more favourable to negotiate and conclude new financing with another bank.

2. after the expiry of 10 years:

If more than ten years have passed since the full disbursement of the loan, a construction loan can generally be terminated or rescheduled after six months' notice. In this case, there is no early repayment penalty!

3. in case of legitimate interest:

A legitimate interest exists, for example, in the sale of the financed property. If at least six months have passed since the full disbursement of the loan, the real estate financing can be terminated. However, if the loan is terminated within the agreed fixed-interest period, an early repayment penalty must usually be paid to the bank.

At the latest when an early repayment penalty also has to be paid, you should call us in as your independent financing expert. Borrowers can often save four-digit amounts per year in interest payments by doing so. However, rescheduling is not free of charge: any possible interest savings can be eaten up by the early repayment penalty due to the bank as well as other fees. Therefore, you should carefully calculate the costs, ask for conditions and obtain alternative offers. We will be happy to advise you, just contact us at our advice centres in Düsseldorf and Berlin.

The main advantages of a debt restructuring are, on the one hand, that you can adapt your mortgage to your current circumstances. This means that you can reduce the financial burden by reducing the repayment rate. Now you even have more money available for other important things. On the other hand, you can of course also increase the repayment rate to pay off the loan more quickly. Debt rescheduling is particularly interesting in times of low interest rates, because you can now increase the repayment percentage while keeping the instalments the same. The loan is therefore paid off more quickly. In some cases, it can even pay off to reschedule a loan, even though there is an early repayment penalty. In this case, however, you should definitely seek advice!

Debt restructuring means taking out follow-up financing for your loan with a new lender. This can save you a lot of money, especially if you have a long-term mortgage. In the case of a debt restructuring, the new lender repays the loan when the fixed interest rate expires and in return receives the land charges as collateral for the loan.
In the case of debt rescheduling, notary and land registry fees are incurred for the assignment of the land charge, but these are very limited and are usually in the range of a few hundred euros. Thus, the interest rate advantage of a few tenths of a percent can be a higher interest rate saving for the new financing than the fees. For example, in the case of debt rescheduling, the assignment of a land charge in the amount of EUR 100,000 costs just under EUR 200. The assignment is handled by the credit institutions themselves; as a borrower, you do not have to do anything else.