What are the disadvantages of refinancing?
Your credit score will temporarily take a hit. Most refinances won't affect your property taxes, but completing a remodel with a cash-out refinance can increase your home's value — which could mean a higher tax bill. If you've paid off a significant chunk of your mortgage, refinancing might not make sense.
Your credit score will temporarily take a hit. Most refinances won't affect your property taxes, but completing a remodel with a cash-out refinance can increase your home's value — which could mean a higher tax bill. If you've paid off a significant chunk of your mortgage, refinancing might not make sense.
Key Takeaways
Don't refinance if you have a long break-even period—the number of months to reach the point when you start saving. Refinancing to lower your monthly payment is great unless you're spending more money in the long-run.
Moving into a longer-term loan: If you're already at least halfway through the loan term, it's unlikely you'll save money refinancing. You've already reached the point where more of your payment is going to loan principal than interest; refinancing now means you'll restart the clock and pay more toward interest again.
A longer-term loan could result in lower monthly payments, but higher overall costs. For instance, if you have 10 years left to pay on your current loan and you refinance to a 30-year loan, you could end up paying more in interest overall to borrow the money and have 20 extra years of mortgage payments.
A rule of thumb says that you'll benefit from refinancing if the new rate is at least 1% lower than the rate you have. More to the point, consider whether the monthly savings is enough to make a positive change in your life, or whether the overall savings over the life of the loan will benefit you substantially.
Because refinancing involves taking out a new loan with new terms, you're essentially starting over from the beginning. However, you don't have to choose a term based on your original loan's term or the remaining repayment period.
Your servicer wants to refinance your mortgage for two reasons: 1) to make money; and 2) to avoid you leaving their servicing portfolio for another lender.
Negatively Impacting Your Long-Term Net Worth
Refinancing can lower your monthly payment, but it will often make the loan more expensive in the end if you're adding years to your mortgage. If you need to refinance to avoid losing your house, paying more, in the long run, might be worth it.
Refinancing the mortgage on your house means you're essentially trading in your current mortgage for a newer one – often with a new principal and a different interest rate. Your lender then uses the newer mortgage to pay off the old one, so you're left with just one loan and one monthly payment.
What is the interest rate today?
| Product | Interest Rate | APR |
|---|---|---|
| 30-year fixed-rate | 7.068% | 7.151% |
| 20-year fixed-rate | 7.069% | 7.174% |
| 15-year fixed-rate | 6.331% | 6.470% |
| 10-year fixed-rate | 6.188% | 6.407% |
MBA: Rates Will Decline to 6.1% In its March Mortgage Finance Forecast, the Mortgage Bankers Association predicts that mortgage rates will fall from 6.8% in the first quarter of 2024 to 6.1% by the fourth quarter. The industry group expects rates will fall below the 6% threshold in the first quarter of 2025.
With a cash-out refinance, you get a new home loan for more than you currently owe on your house. The difference between that new mortgage amount and the balance on your previous mortgage goes to you at closing in cash, which you can spend on home improvements, debt consolidation or other financial needs.
You have a greater risk of losing your home: A cash-out refinance increases your mortgage balance. Failing to repay the loan means you could wind up losing it to foreclosure.
For example, when refinancing your mortgage, there will be closing costs to be paid as part of the process. If you opt to have the closing costs rolled into the new mortgage, you're augmenting the mortgage balance — the amount you owe — and thus diluting your equity — the amount you own.
Cash-Out Refinance. You don't need to change your rate or term when you refinance – you can also take money out of your home equity with a cash-out refinance. You accept a higher principal loan balance and take the difference out in cash when you take a cash-out refinance.
Refinance closing costs commonly run between 2% and 6% of the loan principal. For example, if you're refinancing a $225,000 mortgage balance, you can expect to pay between $4,500 and $13,500. Like purchase loans, mortgage refinancing carries standard fees, such as origination fees and multiple third-party charges.
The Bottom Line
You pay closing costs and fees when you close on a refinance – just like when you signed on your original loan. You might see appraisal fees, attorney fees and title insurance fees all rolled up into closing costs. Generally, you'll pay about 3% – 6% of your refinance loan's value in closing costs.
You may be able to lower your mortgage payment by refinancing to a lower interest rate, eliminating your mortgage insurance, lengthening your loan term, shopping around for a better homeowners insurance rate or appealing your property taxes.
The bottom line. You don't have to lose any equity when you refinance, but there's a chance that it could happen. For example, if you take cash out of your home when you refinance your mortgage or use your equity to pay closing costs, your total home equity will decline by the amount of money you borrow.
How long does a refinance take from start to finish?
A refinance takes 30 to 45 days to complete in most cases, but it could always require more or less time depending on a variety of factors. For example, appraisals, inspections and other services that third parties handle can slow down the process.
With a standard rate-and-term refinance, you'll need to wait at least 210 days from your original loan's closing date. If you're looking to take cash out with your refinance, you'll need to have lived in the home for at least one year and made on-time mortgage payments for the last 12 months.
When people refinance, they change the terms of their loan with their bank or lender so they are paying a lower monthly interest rate. While that means less in loan payments for lenders, homeowners must pay application and closing fees to get this deal, which is immediate revenue for those lenders.
You May Get a Better Interest Rate
Shopping around is one of the best ways to make sure you're getting the best interest rate on your new loan, and if you stick with your current lender who knows what your current rate is, you might get a lower rate but not the best out there.
- Flagstar Bank: Best for Online Closing Process.
- PNC Bank: Best for Medical Professionals.
- Chase: Best for Relationship Discounts.
- Better.com: Best for Online Mortgages.
- Ally: Best for Fast Preapproval.
- Guaranteed Rate: Best for Expanded Availability.
