3
Three months
The settle-in check. Repayments running correctly, offset and redraw set up the way we planned, first statements looking the way they should.
Your loan gets reviewed every year. Free.
Settlement is not the finish line. Loan pricing and features can change after settlement, so I built my process around checking rather than assuming nothing has moved. I personally check in at roughly three, six, twelve and twenty-four months, then keep your loan on a yearly review cycle. No fee, no service team, and if nothing needs changing I will tell you exactly that.
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John Carson-Zangor - Residential Mortgage Broker, Nectar Mortgages. Based in Bethania, Logan, serving Brisbane, Ipswich, the Gold Coast and Australia-wide by phone and video. Credit representative 537545 of QED Credit Services Pty Ltd, Australian Credit Licence 387856.
Last reviewed: July 2026
The loyalty tax, in plain terms
Lenders can price new and existing customers differently. Stay put for a few years without checking and your pricing can quietly drift away from what the same lender offers someone walking in the door today. That gap is often called the loyalty tax. It can grow quietly if pricing is not reviewed.
The fix is not switching loans every six months. It is having someone whose job is to look at your loan on a schedule, compare where it sits against what new customers are being offered, and tell you honestly whether it still stacks up. That is what this page is about. If you want the longer version of how the gap works, I have written a full guide: The loyalty tax: what staying with your lender actually costs.
Post-settlement care
My check-in rhythm after settlement
These are not automated emails from a service team. I make these check-ins myself, for every client.
6
Six months
A quick pulse check. Has anything changed - income, plans, how the loan feels to live with day to day.
12
Twelve months
The first full review. Rate drift against new-customer pricing, structure, features and whether the loan still fits the life you are actually living.
24
Twenty-four months
The same full review again. From here your loan stays on my yearly review cycle - you do not have to remember to chase me.
What a review actually checks
A proper review is more than glancing at the interest rate. Each one works through the same list:
- Rate drift - whether your pricing has slipped away from what new customers of the same lender are being offered
- Structure fit - whether the loan set-up still matches how you actually use it, or was only right for the person you were at settlement
- Offset and redraw use - whether the features you have are genuinely working for you, or just sitting there
- Fixed-rate expiry timing - so a rollover is planned well ahead, not sprung on you at the last minute. If a fixed term is coming up, you can also set a free fixed-rate expiry reminder
- Life changes - new job, new baby, new plans, anything that changes what the loan needs to do
If a move makes sense
I explain what the change would actually achieve, what it costs to get there and the trade-offs in plain English. If you decide to go ahead, I handle the work the same way I handle any refinance - costs, structure and timing checked before anything is lodged. And if the right move is a pricing conversation with your current lender rather than a full refinance, I will tell you that too - the most practical option is sometimes no switch at all.
If staying put is right
I say so, plainly. Some reviews end with: stay put, the loan is still doing its job - that honesty is the point. You get confirmation that someone qualified has actually looked at your loan this year, and we talk again at the next check-in. No manufactured urgency, no churn for the sake of it.
Annual loan review questions
Is the loan review really free?
Yes. Reviewing whether your loan still fits is part of how I look after clients after settlement, and there is no fee for the review itself. If a change ends up making sense, any costs involved in that change are explained before you decide anything.
What is the loyalty tax?
It is the gap that can open up between what a loyal customer pays and what the same lender offers new customers. The gap can grow when pricing is not reviewed. A review checks whether your pricing has drifted from what new borrowers are being offered, so you can decide what to do about it.
Do I have to change my loan after a review?
No. A review may end with me telling you to stay put because the loan is still doing its job. If the numbers and trade-offs support considering a move, I explain them and you decide. There is no pressure either way.
Who actually does the review?
I do. There is no service team or call centre - you deal with me directly, the same broker who arranged the loan. I personally check in at roughly three, six, twelve and twenty-four months after settlement, then keep the loan on a yearly review cycle.
Free loan review
Not sure whether your loan still stacks up?
Whether John arranged your loan or you have never spoken to him before, the review works the same way: he looks at where your loan sits, tells you honestly whether anything is worth changing, and says so plainly if it is not.
- No lender application is made from this form
- No sensitive identity or account details are needed
- John aims to respond by the end of the next business day
Settled years ago and never heard from your broker again?
That is exactly what this review exists for. Tell John where your loan is at and he will check whether it still stacks up - for free.
General information only, not credit advice. Your circumstances, lender criteria and responsible lending requirements apply. John Carson-Zangor is an authorised credit representative (Credit Representative Number 537545) of QED Credit Services Pty Ltd (Australian Credit Licence Number 387856).