You can refinance earlier, or any time after the 10-year-period, if your contract is 10+ years. Anything after the 10-year-period comes without any kind of pen

You can refinance earlier, or any time after the 10-year-period, if your contract is 10+ years. Anything after the 10-year-period comes without any kind of penalty. Getting out of the contract earlier is possible, but comes with a penalty called Vorfälligkeitsentschädigung — it boils down to the bank demanding the interest payments you would have paid if you‘d stayed in the contract for the whole 10 years. However, afaik, if you also had an agreement on „Sondertilgungen“, that is, if the contract allows to pay x% of additional down payment every year, the bank must assume you had paid this for the remaining years in the contract. No financial advice.