Fixing again, or refinancing?
Fixing again means a new rate with your own bank, refinancing a move to a different one. Most people end up staying where they are. That does not mean it is not worth doing anything, though: the difference between what a bank offers you on its own and what it offers after you negotiate tends to be bigger than the difference between banks.
What is the difference between them?
Fixing again only changes the rate, refinancing changes the whole loan. With fixing again, the agreement, the bank and the security stay the same; only the figure and the period it applies for get rewritten. With refinancing, a new agreement is made with a new bank, which pays off the old one.
Everything else follows from this. Fixing again needs no new valuation, no new Land Registry filing and no new approval process, so it is quick and costs nothing. Refinancing means a new application, proving your income, and the Land Registry's administrative fees, but in exchange it opens up the whole market.
There's a third option people forget about: doing nothing. Then the rate the bank proposed in its letter starts to apply, and that is the most expensive option of all, because a bank's first offer tends to be worse than what it gives new customers.
How many people end up staying?
Roughly half of newly agreed rates in the Czech Republic are a case of fixing again with the original bank, not a new mortgage or a move elsewhere. It's a share that has been growing for years.
That doesn't mean switching is pointless. It means a competing offer mainly works as leverage: you bring it to your own bank, and it usually responds to it. The outcome "I stayed and I am paying less" counts just as much, even though from the outside it looks as if nothing happened.
And for a large share of people, it is today the only option available. Anyone who took out a mortgage in 2020 or 2021 has a rate well below today's market, and once the fixed-rate period ends their repayment will rise wherever they go. There, the choice isn't between better and worse, but between worse and even worse.
When does which option make sense?
Fix again when
- only a small amount of principal or few years remain, so there's nothing left for the cost of switching to cover,
- your bank matches what you've found elsewhere once you negotiate,
- you don't want to, or can't, prove your income again, say after changing jobs,
- something has changed about the property and a new valuation would come out worse.
Refinance when
- your bank doesn't respond to a competing offer,
- you want to borrow more at the same time, typically for a renovation,
- you want to change the term, or add or remove a co-applicant,
- your LTV, meaning the loan's share of the property's value, has dropped into a lower band, and your own bank hasn't reflected that on its own.
Both routes have one thing in common: you have to know what the market offers. Without that you have nothing to negotiate with, and the bank's first offer is the only figure you have.
How much time do you have?
More than it looks. The bank has to tell you the new rate three months before the fixed-rate period ends, and from that notice you have three months to repay the mortgage without any charge.
That second deadline runs from the notice, not from the end of the fixed-rate period. If the bank writes to you at the last moment, the window extends past the end of the fixed-rate period and you still have time to compare offers. We cover the whole timing in detail on our page Refinancing a mortgage.
In practice it makes sense to start around half a year ahead. Moving to a different bank takes weeks, and you have to fit in the valuation, the approval and the Land Registry. Fixing again can be sorted out faster, but even for that it is better to have the documents ready earlier than five days before the deadline.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if I do not respond to the letter from the bank?
The rate the bank proposed starts to apply, and the fixed-rate period runs on for the new term. Nothing falls apart, but it is usually the most expensive option, because a bank's first offer tends to be worse than what it gives new customers. Silence, in other words, counts as agreement.
Can I ask my own bank for a better rate?
Yes, and it is common. It helps to have a specific competing offer, not just a feeling that it is better elsewhere. The bank knows that winning a new customer costs it more than keeping an existing one, and it behaves accordingly.
Does fixing again cost anything?
No. The agreement and the security do not change, so there are no Land Registry fees and no new valuation. That is why, with a small amount of principal left, it often comes out better than switching, even at a slightly higher rate.
Do I have to prove my income again when fixing again?
Usually not, because no new agreement is made. That is decisive for some people: after changing jobs, while on parental leave, or after starting a business, a new application can be a problem, while fixing again goes through without that assessment.
What if my own bank offers the same rate as the competition?
Then fixing again is almost always the more practical choice. You save the Land Registry fees, a new valuation and the time, and you do not have to manage the timing between the old and new bank. The difference would have to be noticeable for switching to cover those costs.