How Often Can You Refinance Your Home? (2024)

FAQs

How Often Can You Refinance Your Home? ›

There is no limit to how many times you're allowed to refinance your mortgage, though a lender might enforce a waiting period between when you close on a loan and refinance to a new one.

Legally, there isn't a limit on how many times you can refinance your home loan. However, mortgage lenders do have a few mortgage refinance requirements you'll need to meet each time you apply for a loan, and some special considerations are important to note if you want a cash-out refinance.

In many cases, there's no waiting period to refinance. Your current lender might ask you to wait six months between loans, but you're free to simply refinance with a different lender instead. However, you must wait six months after your most recent closing (usually 180 days) to refinance if you're taking cash out.

If you originally got a 15-year mortgage but find the payments challenging, refinancing to a 30-year loan can lower your payments by as much as several hundred dollars each month. Conversely, if you have a 30-year mortgage, a 15-year term can help you build equity much faster.

Historically, the rule of thumb is that refinancing is a good idea if you can reduce your interest rate by at least 2%. However, many lenders say 1% savings is enough of an incentive to refinance. Using a mortgage calculator is a good resource to budget some of the costs.

Refinancing will hurt your credit score a bit initially, but might actually help in the long run. Refinancing can significantly lower your debt amount and/or your monthly payment, and lenders like to see both of those. Your score will typically dip a few points, but it can bounce back within a few months.

There are several expenses to be aware of when refinancing your mortgage. For example, you'll need to pay closing costs again, which can amount to about 3% to 6% of your remaining loan balance. If you refinance multiple times, those closing costs can quickly add up.

Overall, refinancing could be a viable option for some homeowners in 2024, but the reality is that many existing homeowners have lower-than-average rates already. And if you're buying a home now with the expectation that you can refinance next year, that can be risky, as rates don't always follow predictions.

Conventional refinance: For conventional refinances (including cash-out refinances), you'll usually need at least 20 percent equity in your home (or an LTV ratio of no more than 80 percent).

If you pay $200 extra a month towards principal, you can cut your loan term by more than 8 years and reduce the interest paid by more than $44,000. Another way to pay down your mortgage in less time is to make half-monthly payments every 2 weeks, instead of 1 full monthly payment.

Do you need a down payment to refinance? ›

Key takeaways

You don't need a down payment to refinance, but you'll likely have to come up with cash for closing costs. Some lenders let you roll closing costs into the mortgage to avoid upfront expenses. You can also try negotiating with the lender to waive them.

Refinancing your mortgage does not have to negatively impact your home equity. Just the opposite, in fact: The goal of a refi generally is to get a new loan with lower interest rates, making repayments easier and allowing you to build equity faster.

The 28/36 rule is a calculation that helps you know how large a mortgage you can afford. Lenders want your housing costs to be 28% or less of your income, and for all your expenses to be under 36% of your pay.

In addition to an adequate credit score, you must have built up enough equity in your home to qualify for a refinance. Home equity is the percentage of the home's value that you own and is the amount you would get if you sold the house and paid off your mortgage. The more equity you have, the better.

However, if you have all private loans and a good credit score, refinancing could be a smart money move, especially if you have trouble keeping up with multiple loans or have a higher interest rate. You can refinance as many times as you'd like as you improve your credit score and qualify for lower rates.

Yes, you can remortgage multiple times over the course of your mortgage term as technically, there's no limit to the number of times you can remortgage. Some people choose to remortgage every time they reach the end of a fixed-rate deal. However, fixed-rate mortgages won't be right for everyone.

Or you may want a cash-out refinance, borrowing against the built-up value of your home to pay for remodeling or other things. And the fact is, you can refinance as often as you want, but some lenders look for a “seasoning” period between home loans, or a certain amount of time between appraisals.