Top 5 Reasons to Refinance Your Mortgage

When you refinance your home loan, you exchange your current mortgage for a new one, usually with different loan terms. These new terms could help make your mortgage more manageable or save you money in the long run.

You may consider refinancing for a variety of reasons, but here are the five most common reasons to refinance.

1. To lower your mortgage interest rate

Borrowers may choose to refinance their mortgage to take advantage of low mortgage interest rates, especially if rates are lower than when the borrower originally took out the loan. Your interest rate affects the amount of your monthly mortgage payment and the amount you’ll pay over the life of your loan. The higher your rate, the higher your monthly payment will be and the more interest you will end up paying.

So, refinancing at a lower interest rate can help lower your monthly payment and save you money in the long run. Plus, it can help you build up equity in your home faster. Your net worth increases when you pay down the principal balance of your mortgage. If you pay more for your principal each month (because you don’t have to pay as much interest), you increase your home equity faster.

2. To modify the duration of your loan

If interest rates are very low, borrowers may have the option of refinancing a mortgage with a shorter loan term without drastically changing their monthly payment amount. But even if you don’t, you might want to refinance to change your loan repayment term. Let’s see what happens when you shorten or extend the term of your mortgage.

Shorten the term of the loan

Refinancing a shorter-term mortgage (for example, going from a 30-year mortgage to a 15-year mortgage) can help you pay off your mortgage sooner, which means you’ll be own your home sooner and free up funds for other financial goals. Paying off your loan over a shorter term can also help you save money on interest during the term of the loan.

On the other hand, switching to a shorter-term loan often increases the amount of your monthly payments. If you’re having trouble making your mortgage payments as they are, shortening the term of the loan may not be the best option.

Extend the term of the loan

You may want to refinance a mortgage with a longer term and lower monthly payments. Extending the term of your loan reduces the amount of money you pay each month because you extend the time you have to pay off the loan.

Your monthly payments will be lower on a longer-term mortgage, but you’ll end up paying more interest over time. In addition, it will take you longer to fully own your property.

However, if you are experiencing a financial squeeze around your payments, it is often best to be proactive in reviewing your terms to avoid foreclosure. Keep in mind that refinancing to reduce monthly payments can also free up funds to pay off other debts, build up your savings account, or invest.

3. To access the equity in your property

Refinancing with a cash refinance allows you to use the equity you have built up in your home. Your equity is equal to the current value of your home minus the amount you still owe your lender. A cash refinance replaces your current mortgage with a larger loan amount than you previously owed on the home, and you take a percentage of your home’s equity in cash to use to consolidate debt, pay for home improvements , college, retirement, a savings fund or make another investment of your choice.