A €300,000 loan from 2016 at 1.5% with 1% repayment leaves about €220,000 of remaining debt after the 10-year fix. Refinanced at ~4% with 2% repayment, the payment jumps from ~€625 to ~€1,100 per month. Your options: (1) classic remortgage — compare at least three banks, the best-to-worst spread of 0.3–0.5 points is worth ~€10,000 over ten years; (2) a forward loan locks today's rate up to 36 months ahead for a premium of ~0.01–0.03% per waiting month; (3) refinance plus top-up to fund energy renovation at mortgage rates instead of 6–8% consumer credit. Start 12–24 months before expiry; sign 3–6 months before, or you fall onto the lender's expensive variable rate.
Why this is burning right now
In 2016 the average German construction rate for a ten-year fix was about 1.5%. Many owners — internationals among them — took loans with low repayment (typically 1%), expecting rates to stay low forever. They did not: in May 2026 the effective rate for a ten-year follow-up financing sits around 4%, in recent weeks even above.
Concretely: a €300,000 loan from 2016 at 1.5% interest and 1% repayment costs about €625 per month. When the fix expires, roughly €220,000 of remaining debt is left. Refinance that at 4% with 2% repayment and the payment becomes about €1,100 per month — €475 more, in many cases more still.
Which of the three strategies fits depends on your liquidity, your life planning, and whether you want to keep the property long-term.
Strategy 1: The classic remortgage
You refinance the remaining debt at current conditions — with your existing bank or a new one. The new one usually wins: banks rarely give their best market rate to customers who are already captive.
When it fits: you can carry the higher payment, want to keep the property long-term, and have no appetite for selling or moving.
The lever: get offers from at least three banks. Across my access to 450+ lenders, the spread between the best and worst offer is regularly 0.3–0.5 percentage points — on €220,000 over ten years, roughly €10,000 of interest.
Watch out: switching banks requires assigning the land charge (Grundschuldabtretung), costing about 0.1–0.2% of the land-charge amount — usually still far cheaper than staying on the old bank's worse rate.
Strategy 2: The forward loan — lock tomorrow's rate today
Does your fix end in 12–36 months? Then you can secure today's rate now with a forward loan: you sign the contract today, the loan pays out when your current fix expires, and until then you pay no interest — but a forward premium of typically 0.01–0.03% per month of waiting time.
When it fits: you believe rates will keep rising and you want payment certainty.
Worked example: with 24 months of forward period at 0.02%/month, you pay 0.48% above today's rate. If rates rise by 0.8 points in the same window — which many analysts expect — you save roughly €700 per year.
Watch out: a forward loan is binding. You must take it even if rates fall instead. It is a position against the market, and it should be sized like one.
Strategy 3: Refinance with a top-up
If a renovation is due anyway — heating swap, insulation, bathroom — combine the remortgage and the modernisation loan in one contract. You use the refinancing you must do anyway to fund the works at mortgage conditions rather than 6–8% consumer-credit rates.
When it fits: the property needs energy work (the GEG/GMG requirements apply since 1 July 2026) or a renovation is planned.
The extra lever: if the works qualify for KfW 261, KfW 270 or the BAFA heating subsidy, effective costs drop by another 25–45%. My tip: have an energy consultant assess the house before the refinancing decision — the consultation itself is subsidised up to 80% and produces the certificates the subsidies require.
When selling beats refinancing
A fourth path, usually underestimated: selling before the rate jump. It sounds drastic, but in two situations it is the economically best move.
Case A: you bought 2016–2018 and the numbers have moved your way — remaining debt around €220,000, current Munich market value in the €450,000–500,000 range depending on location. Selling leaves a substantial gain, tax-free once the ten-year speculation period (purchase date + 10 years) has passed — a date worth checking to the day before you sign anything.
Case B: the €500–700 monthly increase genuinely overstretches your budget. Then the priority is clarity before a distressed sale: raised early, six to twelve months of lead time buy an orderly sale at market price instead of a forced one below it.
What to do now
- Know your expiry date. Check the loan contract today — if the fix ends within 24 months, you need a strategy.
- Get your remaining-debt figure. Request the current repayment status from your bank; that is the number we refinance.
- Compare the market. I compare 450+ banks and put the three best options in writing.
- Choose the strategy. Classic, forward, or refinance-plus-top-up — decided by your liquidity and plans, not by habit.
- Sign 3–6 months before expiry. Otherwise the old bank's variable rate kicks in automatically — the most expensive default in German mortgage finance.
I advise in English, at 450+ banks' conditions, free of charge and Schufa-neutral — send me your remaining debt, current rate and expiry date, and you get the three best written offers within 48 hours.
General information, not individual investment, tax or legal advice. Rates as of May 2026; your contract terms and the offers valid on your signing date govern. Sources: market rates for ten-year follow-up financings (May 2026), KfW/BAFA subsidy conditions.