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Refinance Break-Even Review

Refinancing is not automatically a good idea

Nobody should refinance because somebody called and told them they could. Start with what you are trying to accomplish.

Get my refinance checkupRun a break-even estimate
  • No application required
  • No credit pull to talk
  • 5.0 on Google, 128 reviews

How do I know whether refinancing is worth it?

If you are making a change to your mortgage and there are costs involved, how long does it take before the benefit of that change has made up for those costs? That is break-even.

Then the bigger question. Are you even likely to be in the home, or in the mortgage, long enough for that to matter?

How long until the change pays for itself?

Break-even is simple. If a change to your mortgage has costs, how long does it take before the benefit has made up for them? The bigger question is whether you are likely to keep the mortgage that long. Enter your own numbers, nothing is sent anywhere.

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This is arithmetic on numbers you entered. It is not a quote, an offer, a credit decision or a recommendation, and it does not evaluate your eligibility for any loan program. Align Lending LLC, NMLS #2041154. Equal Housing Opportunity.

What you will walk away knowing

Whether the change you are considering actually accomplishes what you want.

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The question underneath the question

What reasons have nothing to do with the payment?

Sometimes somebody is changing the structure of their mortgage. Sometimes they are accessing equity. Sometimes their life changed. Sometimes they are trying to accomplish something completely different financially.

Which is why will my payment go down is not the only refinance question, and treating it as the only question is how people end up making a change that looks fine on one line and does nothing for what they actually cared about.

Start with the goal. The structure that fits becomes much easier to see once the goal is on the table.

When is refinancing genuinely not worth it?

When the reason does not make sense after you look at the whole picture.

Nobody should refinance just because somebody called them and told them they could. What is the goal. What does it cost. How long do you expect to keep the mortgage. What changes. If the answers do not add up, do not do it.

Get a straight answer
Samantha Shelton in the Align Lending office

About Samantha

Samantha Shelton has been a licensed loan officer since May 2020 and founded Align Lending in August 2020. Before mortgages she was a stay-at-home mom raising three boys.

In her own words: "I own a mortgage brokerage in Michigan and I help people understand their options before they make one of the biggest financial decisions they are ever going to make."

Recognition includes Hall of AIME, NAMB Broker of the Year, and Woman with Vision, along with her leadership work with AIME.

Align Lending LLC, NMLS #2041154. Samantha Shelton, NMLS 1647301. Licensed in Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana and Texas.

Read Samantha's story

Did my refi with Samantha. What a smooth process. All hiccups in the process were dealt with quickly and all steps explained in a way I completely understood. Such a pleasure to work with!

Sarah Cadieux, Google review

Individual experience. Results vary.

Questions people actually ask

If yours is not here, ask it on the call. There are no dumb questions.

How long do I realistically expect to keep this mortgage?

That is the question underneath break-even, and it moves the answer more than almost anything else. A change that makes sense over a long horizon can make very little sense over a short one, and the costs do not care which one you are in.

How long it takes for the benefit of the change to make up for what the change cost you.

Then the time horizon matters more than anything else, and it may be the reason not to do it.

No. A lower payment can still be the wrong move depending on what it cost and how long you keep it.

Ask them what the goal is and what it costs. If they cannot answer both clearly, that tells you something.

Yes. Changing the structure, accessing equity, or responding to a change in your situation are all real reasons.

Yes. Knowing where you stand and deciding to leave it alone is a legitimate outcome, and it is a better place to be than wondering.

Sometimes the answer is do nothing

Knowing where you stand and deciding to leave it alone is a legitimate outcome, and it is a better place to be than wondering.

Get my refinance checkupRun a break-even estimate
  1. 1

    Tell us what you are trying to do

    Not what product you want. What you are actually trying to accomplish.

  2. 2

    We look at your situation

    A licensed Align loan officer works out what matters most for you specifically.

  3. 3

    You leave with a plan

    Your options, the tradeoffs, and your next step. No obligation to go further.

Related reading

Background from the Align Learn Center, if you want to read before you talk to anybody.

Browse the Learn Center

Loan options

See every loan option

Other refinance questions

Refinance overview

Align Lending LLC, NMLS #2041154. Samantha Shelton, NMLS 1647301. Equal Housing Opportunity. Licensed in Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana and Texas. This page is for educational purposes only. It is not a credit decision, a preapproval, a commitment to lend, or an offer of credit, and it does not evaluate your eligibility for any loan program.

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