Refinance planning
A lower payment is one piece of the decision. I also look at new closing costs, your payoff date and how long you expect to keep the loan.
The goal comes first. The loan choice follows.
Originating mortgages since 2001Independent wholesale broker · Orlando, FLNMLS 186790
01 / Start with the goal, not the rate
A refinance replaces your current loan with a new one — new rate, new term, new closing costs, new amortization clock. The question isn't whether the new rate is lower than the old one. The question is whether the new loan costs less over the time you actually keep it.
If the payment went up on a fixed-rate loan, the loan may not be the problem at all. Escrow, mortgage insurance and an escrow shortage each move the total payment on their own. Before pricing a refinance, it is worth reading how to lower your mortgage payment without refinancing.
This page is educational. It is not a refinance offer, not a rate lock, not an approval, and not a commitment to lend. Final refi terms depend on verified credit, income, assets, property, loan program, and lender pricing.
02 / What actually decides the refi
I check these tradeoffs against your current loan and the time you expect to keep the new one.
Lower rate environment vs your current note, a cash-out need with a defensible use of funds, removing FHA mortgage insurance into conventional, consolidating high-cost debt, or stabilizing payment via term or program change.
Short remaining holding period, marginal rate improvement after new closing costs, resetting a long amortization just to lower payment, or chasing a sticker rate without verifying total cost.
Monthly P&I savings is one number. New closing costs, prepaids, and escrow setup are another. Break-even is the month the savings catches up — if you sell or refinance again before then, the refi cost more than it saved.
Rate-and-term replaces the existing loan with a new loan. Cash-out replaces it and adds proceeds against equity. Pricing, LTV limits, and underwriting all behave differently — the right pick depends on use of funds and exit plan.
A 30-year refinance restarts amortization. Lower monthly payment on its own isn't a win if you're paying interest for ten more years. Sometimes the cleaner answer is a shorter term — or staying put.
Existing escrow refunds, new prepaids, daily interest at funding, and lock timing all move cash flow around closing. Worth modeling on the file before you decide whether the refinance is actually working.
03 / How I check a refinance
Note rate, remaining term, principal balance, current MI status, escrow balance, prepayment penalty (if any). The refi math starts here, not at the new rate sheet.
Rate, points or credits, term, MI behavior, new closing costs, prepaids, escrow setup. Run break-even against the holding period you actually expect — not the longest possible one.
Lower monthly, shorter term, cash-out, MI removal, escrow reset, or a combination. The cleanest decisions name the goal first — and the loan choice follows. Vague goals usually produce vague refinances.
Useful next steps
04 / Let's talk
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Estimates only. Not a Loan Estimate, not an approval, not a commitment to lend, not a rate lock. Final terms depend on verified credit, income, assets, property, loan program, lock date, lender conditions, and actual third-party fees. Mortgage Expert, Inc. · NMLS 2412313 · Equal Housing Opportunity.
