Choose an areaWhere is the home you are refinancing?
Start with the decision you need to make, not a promise of savings. Compare keeping the current loan, changing its structure and other appropriate alternatives.
Eight different decisions, not one refinance pitch.
Lower Your Mortgage Payment
Separate a lower principal-and-interest payment from changes in taxes, insurance or mortgage insurance. Extending the term may reduce the required payment while increasing total interest. Compare keeping the current loan, refinancing with a similar remaining term, and refinancing over a longer period.
Choose your city above to open the corresponding checklist and comparison tool.
Remove Mortgage Insurance
Identify the kind of mortgage insurance before replacing the loan. Conventional private mortgage insurance may have cancellation paths through the servicer. FHA mortgage-insurance rules are different. A refinance should be compared with any available cancellation option, not assumed to be the only solution.
Choose your city above to open the corresponding checklist and comparison tool.
Shorten Your Mortgage Term
A shorter loan term can change the payoff date, but a new loan is not the only way to accelerate repayment. Compare refinancing with keeping the existing mortgage and making additional principal payments, subject to its terms. Preserve enough room for reserves and other obligations.
Choose your city above to open the corresponding checklist and comparison tool.
Home-Improvement Cash-Out Refinance
Start with the scope, estimates and contingency reserve for the work. A standard cash-out refinance generally depends on current lending value and program limits; do not assume future improvements will create immediately usable equity. Compare replacing the first mortgage with alternatives that preserve it.
Choose your city above to open the corresponding checklist and comparison tool.
Debt-Consolidation Refinance
Replacing several payments with one mortgage payment is not the same as reducing the debt. A refinance can move unsecured debt onto the home, extend repayment and increase total interest. Compare the complete debt plan with options that do not put the home at risk, including qualified credit counseling.
Choose your city above to open the corresponding checklist and comparison tool.
Refinance vs. Home-Equity Borrowing
A cash-out refinance replaces the first mortgage. A separate home-equity loan generally adds another secured loan, allowing the existing first mortgage to remain. Compare the combined payments, rates, fees and repayment structures; the rate on the additional borrowing alone is not a complete comparison.
Choose your city above to open the corresponding checklist and comparison tool.
Refinance Break-Even Review
For a simple payment-based comparison, divide relevant refinance costs by a positive monthly payment reduction measured on the same basis. That is a screening calculation, not a total-cost decision. It does not capture every effect of a term change, financed fees, tax treatment or changes in outstanding balance.
Choose your city above to open the corresponding checklist and comparison tool.
Keep Your Current Rate or Refinance?
Begin with the benefit you need: cash, a different payment, a different payoff date or removal of a loan feature. Keeping the current mortgage is a valid comparison, not a failure to act. A larger new loan can cost more overall even if it solves an immediate cash-flow problem.
Choose your city above to open the corresponding checklist and comparison tool.