A small change in your mortgage rate can add up to big money over time. On a $400,000, 30-year loan, lowering your interest rate from 7% to 6% can cut the monthly payment by almost $300 and reduce the total interest paid by tens of thousands of dollars. But refinancing comes with upfront and long-term costs that can add up, meaning lower payments alone don’t automatically make it a smart move.
The real question isn’t whether you can refinance, but whether the numbers work in your favor. And that depends on how much your rate would drop, how long you plan to stay in your home, how much equity you’ve built, and how long it would take your monthly savings to cover the cost of a new loan.
Get those details right, and it could be a good time to refinance your mortgage. Get them wrong, and it could actually cost you more in the long run. Here’s the breakdown.
In this article:
Refinancing definition
Types of refinancing
The right time to refinance
Is refinancing worth it?
Refinancing after 3 years
When it makes sense
When it doesn’t make sense
How much refinancing costs
What does it mean to refinance a mortgage?
Refinancing a mortgage means replacing your current home loan with a new one. Your existing mortgage is completely paid off, and you get a new loan with different terms, like a lower interest rate or shorter payback period.
The goal is to be in a better financial position with the new mortgage than your old one, such as:
- Lowering the monthly payment to free up cash flow.
- Lowering the interest rate to save money over the life of the loan.
- Shortening the loan term to pay off the house faster (like moving from a 30-year to a 15-year mortgage).
- Switching loan types, usually moving from an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) to the stability of a fixed-rate mortgage.
- Tapping home equity to take cash out for renovations or debt consolidation.
Different types of refinancing
Most homeowners refinance using a rate-and-term refinance, but the right option depends on whether your goal is lower payments, faster payoff, or accessing home equity.
- Rate-and-term refinance: This is the standard approach, replacing the existing mortgage with a new one that has a different interest rate, loan term, or both. It’s more common for homeowners looking to lower their rate, reduce their monthly payment, shorten the loan term, or switch from an adjustable-rate mortgage to a fixed-rate loan.
- Cash-out refinance: You take out a new mortgage for more than you currently owe and pocket the difference in cash. The new, larger loan replaces the original mortgage, and the cash is often used for home improvements, debt consolidation, or other major expenses. Because the loan balance increases, cash-out refinances usually come with higher rates and require more equity. This strategy only works financially if the new mortgage rate is meaningfully lower than the debt you’re replacing and you avoid running those balances back up.
- Cash-in refinance: At the refinancing closing table, a sum of money is put down toward the loan balance that improves the loan-to-value ratio. This can help increase home equity in order to remove PMI and/or lock in a better interest rate.
- Streamline refinance: This option is more common with government-backed loans, like FHA or VA mortgages. They are designed to move quickly by reducing paperwork and eliminating some underwriting steps, like skipping the appraisal. There are often distinct requirements to meet before applying.
- No-closing-cost refinance: The closing costs for the loan are either rolled into the principal balance or are covered by higher interest rates. While no cash is required upfront for the new mortgage, long-term costs might be higher; but, it could be a smart move for short-term homeowners looking for better loan terms.
When is the right time to refinance your mortgage to save money?
The right time to refinance is usually when better loan terms line up with your personal financial timeline. That might happen after rates shift, equity builds, or your financial profile improves. The catch is you’ll need to keep the loan long enough for the savings to count.
Interest rate drops
The standard advice with refinancing was to wait for (at least) a full 1% drop. But today, loan balances are higher due to increased home values, and the math has become more nuanced. Now, the rule of thumb is the lower the loan amount, the higher the percentage drop needs to be in order for a refinance to make sense.
- 1% drop or more: If you can lower your rate by at least 1% (i.e. from 7.25% to 6.25%), in many scenarios you’ll likely see a break-even point that covers the cost of the refinance in under 3 years. The remaining length of your loan is also important to consider.
- 0.5% – 0.75% drop: If you have a high loan balance (over $500,000), even a 0.5% drop can be worth it. On a larger loan, a half-point decrease can still result in hundreds of dollars in monthly savings—enough to recoup your costs quickly if you plan to stay in the home long-term.
Improved credit profile
Mortgage interest rates are heavily tied to credit scores. If your credit score was in the “fair” range when you bought your house, but now it’s considered “excellent,” you might qualify for a noticeably lower rate today even if market rates haven’t moved much.
You might be in this tier if you have:
- Paid down credit card balances.
- Put more time between now and any past late payments.
- Shown a longer, stable history of income.
Increased home value
A rise in your home’s value can change your loan-to-value (LTV) ratio, or the percentage of your home’s value that you owe to the lender. When your LTV drops, it means refinancing can help with:
- Removing PMI: If you put down less than 20% when you bought your home, you are likely paying private mortgage insurance (PMI). If appreciation has boosted your equity over that 20% threshold, refinancing can eliminate that monthly PMI charge and save you money, even if rates haven’t changed.
- Unlocking better rates: Lenders view loans with lower LTVs as less risky, often rewarding homeowners with better rate pricing.
Changing loan terms
Saving money doesn’t always mean chasing the lowest possible rate. Switching from an adjustable-rate mortgage to a fixed-rate loan or shortening the loan term can reduce risk or long-term costs, even if the monthly payment doesn’t drop.
- Refinance to shorten the term: If your income has increased, you might refinance a 30-year loan into a 15-year loan. Your monthly payment will likely go up, but you will save massive amounts in interest and own your home outright much sooner.
- Refinance to extend the term: If your budget is tight, you might refinance an older loan back into a new 30-year term. This lowers your monthly payment but means you will pay more interest in the long run because you’ve reset the clock and started a new loan.
How to tell if refinancing is worth it (the break-even point)
This is the most crucial part of the refinance decision. Just because interest rates have lowered, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll walk away saving money.
1. Estimate your monthly savings
Start by comparing your current monthly payment to what you’d pay with the new loan. Focus on principal and interest first, since taxes and insurance usually stay the same.
The difference between the two payments is your potential monthly savings.
2. Add up the total cost of refinancing
Refinancing comes with closing costs, which tend to range between 2% and 6% of the loan amount, though some lenders offer higher rates in exchange for lower upfront costs.
These cover appraisal fees, title and escrow, lender origination fees, taxes and insurance, and other small costs associated with the process. This is the amount you need to earn back for refinancing to be worthwhile.
3. Calculate your break-even point
Divide your total refinance costs by your monthly savings; this tells you how long it takes for the refinance to pay for itself.
Total closing costs ÷ monthly savings = months to break even
4. Compare the break-even point to your plans
If you expect to stay in the home longer than your break-even period, refinancing is more likely to make financial sense. If not, you might not see the savings.
Example: Let’s say refinancing will save you $200 per month. However, the closing costs to get that new loan are $7,000.
- $7,000 ÷ $200 = 35 months.
In this scenario, your break-even point is 35 months, or almost 3 years. If you plan to move out of the house sooner than that, refinancing is a bad idea.
5. Look beyond the monthly payment
Finally, consider how refinancing affects the loan overall. A lower payment can still cost more over time if it extends the loan term or resets the clock on interest. Comparing total interest paid under each loan, and remembering to consider taxes and insurance, gives a clearer picture of the true cost.
If the rate drop is large enough, it can overcome the extra years you’re adding to the loan. If the drop is small, you can end up paying more interest to the bank over time.
Example: Refinancing after 3 years
A situation many homeowners face after a period of high interest rates is considering whether to refinance a few years into their mortgage. For this example, we’re looking at an original $400,000 loan at 7%; after three years the remaining principal balance is approximately $386,908. Below is how different refinance options compare when applied to the remaining balance after three years.
Current Balance: $386,908 | Estimated Closing Costs: $12,000
| Metric | Current Mortgage (27 Yrs Left) | 30-Year Refinance | 20-Year Refinance | 15-Year Refinance |
| Interest Rate | 7.00% | 6.25% | 6.00% | 5.50% |
| Monthly Payment (Principal & Interest) | $2,661.21 | $2,382.26 | $2,771.93 | $3,161.36 |
| Monthly Cash Flow Change | — | +$278.95 | -$110.72 | -$500.15 |
| Remaining Interest to Pay | $475,324.18 | $470,705.10 | $278,354.87 | $182,136.96 |
| NET Lifetime Savings* | — | -$7,380.92 | $184,969.31 | $281,187.23 |
*Net Savings = (Remaining interest on current loan) – (Interest on new loan + $12k closing costs).
What this example shows:
- Lower monthly payments don’t always mean lower lifetime cost
- Shorter loan terms dramatically reduce total interest
- Resetting to a new 30-year loan can sometimes erase long-term savings
30-year refi: You gain $278.95/month in immediate cash flow, but because you reset the 30-year clock, you actually lose about $7,381 in total wealth over the life of the loan. In this example, refinancing only makes sense if you need the monthly cash for other expenses, or if you apply the savings back toward your monthly principal payments.
20-year refinance: This is the most efficient move in this scenario. By paying just $110.72 more than your current payment, you save a staggering $184,969 in net interest and own your home 7 years sooner than originally planned.
The 15-year refinance: If your budget can handle a $500.15 monthly increase, you will save over $281,000 in interest. This is the fastest way to build massive home equity and eliminate mortgage debt before retirement.
The break-even point: With $12,000 in closing costs, you must stay in the home for at least 43 months (for the 30-year option) to simply break even on the costs of the loan itself (if the monthly savings are not applied back to the loan).
Situations where refinancing may make sense
If you can check one or more of these boxes, it might be time to run the numbers with a lender:
- You plan to stay in the home for several years past your break-even point.
- Your home value has risen enough that you can refinance to remove PMI.
- You currently have an adjustable-rate mortgage and want the predictability of a fixed rate before your ARM adjusts upward.
- You are using equity to consolidate high-interest debt into a lower-interest mortgage payment (proceed with caution and discipline here).
When refinancing may not be a good idea
Sometimes, the best financial move is to sit with what you have. You should probably skip refinancing if:
- You’re moving soon: If you intend to sell the house within the next year or two, you likely won’t have enough time to recoup the closing costs.
- The closing costs are too high: Sometimes the fees charged by lenders outweigh the benefit of a slightly lower rate (like in the 30-year refinance example earlier).
- You keep resetting the clock: If you have paid 10 years into a 30-year mortgage, and you refinance back into a new 30-year loan just to save $200 a month, you are adding significant interest costs to the back end of your loan.
- Your current rate is already historically low: If you locked in a rock-bottom rate during the pandemic lows, it is unlikely market rates will beat that anytime soon.
How to refinance your mortgage
If you decide it’s the right time to refinance, these are the basic steps to take to get the process started:
- Check your essentials: Retrieve your current credit score and estimate how much equity you have in your home.
- Shop around: Mortgage rates vary by lender, and your current provider might not have the most competitive rates anymore. Get quotes from at least 3 different sources (banks, credit unions, and online lenders).
- Estimate break-even: Ask lenders for loan estimates so you can see the real closing costs and calculate your break-even point (often found in Box A on the form).
- Apply and lock-in your rate: Choose your lender, submit your formal application and financial documents, and decide when to lock-in your rate.
- Close the loan: Sign the paperwork. Your old loan will be paid off, and your new loan begins.
How much is it going to cost to refinance—and is it worth it?
With closing costs ranging from 2-6% of the loan amount, you should be confident that the numbers make sense before refinancing. For a $400,000 loan, that means bringing anywhere between $8,000-$24,000 to the closing table.
- Refinancing may make sense if you can lower your rate by roughly 0.75% or more, plan to stay in your home past the break-even point, or want to shorten your loan term.
- Refinancing is less likely to work if you’re moving soon, your current rate is already very low, or closing costs are high relative to your savings.
- Running the break-even math is the fastest way to get an idea of whether refinancing will benefit you.
The most successful refinancers are those who look beyond the monthly savings and prioritize the total interest they will pay over the life of the loan. If the math shows a clear path to breaking even within three years—or if you’re ready to aggressively shorten your term—then now might be the time to lock-in a new loan.
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