Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. We help homeowners explore different refinancing options through our network of wholesale lending partners.

Depending on your qualifications and current loan, available programs may include:

• Rate-and-term refinance
• Cash-out refinance
• Conventional refinance
• FHA Streamline refinance
• VA Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan (IRRRL)
• Other eligible specialty refinance programs

We’ll start by reviewing your current mortgage, estimated home value, financial situation, and goals.

From there, we can compare available loan structures and explain how refinancing may affect your payment, repayment term, interest, mortgage insurance, and upfront expenses.

Refinancing may be worth considering when a new loan can help you accomplish a meaningful financial goal.

Common reasons include:

• Changing your mortgage interest rate
• Adjusting your repayment term
• Changing your loan program
• Removing mortgage insurance when eligible
• Accessing available home equity
• Restructuring existing mortgage debt

However, refinancing isn’t automatically beneficial just because market rates have changed.

For example, a lower monthly payment may partly result from extending the repayment period, which can affect total interest over time.

We’ll help you compare your current mortgage with a potential new loan, including the upfront expenses, payment changes, and long-term financial differences.

A rate-and-term refinance generally replaces your existing mortgage to change the interest rate, repayment term, or loan structure without providing substantial equity proceeds.

A cash-out refinance replaces your existing mortgage with a new loan that allows you to receive eligible cash proceeds from your available home equity.

For example, a homeowner might consider a rate-and-term refinance to change from a 30-year mortgage to a shorter repayment term.

Another homeowner might consider a cash-out refinance to access equity for renovations or another financial goal.

Cash-out refinances often have different pricing, loan-to-value restrictions, and qualification requirements.

We’ll help you compare the available options and how they affect your existing mortgage.

Not always.

If you have an existing second mortgage or HELOC, you may be able to keep it while refinancing your first mortgage.

However, the second-mortgage lender may need to approve a subordination agreement, allowing the new first mortgage to remain in the required first-lien position.

Whether this is possible depends on factors such as:

• The outstanding first- and second-mortgage balances
• Your property’s current value
• The proposed new loan
• The first lender’s requirements
• The second lender’s subordination policies

If subordination isn’t permitted, paying off or restructuring the second mortgage may need to be considered.

We’ll review both loans and help you understand your available options before moving forward.

No. Refinancing can result in a higher, lower, or similar monthly payment.

The result depends on the new loan amount, interest rate, repayment term, mortgage insurance, and other factors.

For example:

• Lower rate: May reduce principal-and-interest payments, depending on the new loan terms.
• Shorter term: May increase the required monthly payment while allowing faster principal repayment.
• Cash-out refinance: May increase the loan balance and affect the payment.
• Longer term: May reduce the required payment by spreading repayment over more years.

We’ll compare your existing and proposed loan figures so you understand the payment difference and what causes it.

Yes. A shorter loan term can help you repay your mortgage principal faster.

Depending on the new interest rate and loan terms, it may also reduce the total interest paid over the remaining repayment period.

However, a shorter repayment schedule can require a higher monthly payment, even when the new interest rate is lower.

For example, changing from a longer remaining mortgage term to a 15-year loan means the balance must be repaid over fewer monthly payments.

We’ll help you compare:

• Monthly payment changes
• Principal repayment
• Interest over the comparison period
• Remaining loan balances
• Upfront refinance expenses

That way, you can evaluate whether paying off your mortgage sooner fits your budget and long-term goals.

A refinance break-even point is an estimate of when the financial benefit of refinancing has recovered the relevant upfront expenses.

For a refinance that reduces the monthly payment, a common simplified calculation is:

Upfront refinance expenses ÷ Monthly savings = Estimated break-even period

However, that calculation doesn’t fully describe every refinancing scenario.

For example, if you refinance into a shorter term, your payment may increase because you’re repaying principal faster. In that situation, comparing interest and mortgage insurance over time, together with principal repayment and remaining balances, can provide a more meaningful view.

Our refinance calculator helps you explore these differences based on the loan information you enter.

We’ll also help you understand which results are most relevant to your specific refinancing goals.

Potentially. Depending on the program and available loan pricing, certain refinance expenses may be handled through:

• Financing eligible expenses: Adding certain costs to the new loan balance.
• Lender credits: Using available credits to offset eligible closing costs.
• A combination of approaches: Subject to program and lender requirements.

These arrangements can reduce the cash you need at closing.

However, they don’t necessarily eliminate the expenses.

Financing costs increase the amount borrowed, while lender credits may involve a higher interest rate than another available option.

We’ll help you compare the terms and understand the financial tradeoffs.

Possibly. Whether you can remove or change mortgage insurance depends on your existing loan, current home value, remaining balance, and the new loan program.

For example, a homeowner with an FHA mortgage may want to explore whether they qualify for a conventional refinance with different mortgage insurance requirements.

However, qualifying for a new program doesn’t automatically mean refinancing is the most economical choice.

We can compare the current mortgage insurance expense against the new loan’s rate, payment, closing costs, and any applicable insurance requirements.

You can also ask your current servicer about cancellation options available under your existing loan before deciding to refinance.

These are refinance programs designed for eligible borrowers who already have certain government-backed mortgages.

• FHA Streamline: An option for eligible existing FHA loans, with program-specific qualification, documentation, and benefit requirements.
• VA IRRRL: A VA Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan for eligible borrowers refinancing an existing VA loan, subject to applicable requirements.

Some streamline programs may involve simplified documentation or property-valuation procedures compared with other refinances.

However, they aren’t automatic approvals or necessarily free of closing expenses.

We’ll review your current loan and explain whether one of these programs may be available and how its proposed terms compare with your existing mortgage.

The three-day right of rescission is a federal consumer protection that allows borrowers to cancel certain mortgage transactions after signing the closing documents.

It generally applies to many refinances and home-equity loans secured by your primary residence. Purchase mortgages generally do not have this rescission right, and certain other transactions are exempt.

For a covered transaction, the three-business-day period generally begins after the last of these events has occurred:

• You sign the credit agreement.
• You receive the required material disclosures.
• You receive the required notice of your right to cancel.

For rescission purposes, business days include Saturdays but exclude Sundays and federal legal holidays.

If your loan has a rescission period, funding generally cannot occur until the period expires.

We’ll explain whether this protection applies to your transaction and how it affects your closing and funding schedule.

If you decide to cancel, you must follow the written rescission instructions and deadlines provided in your loan documents.

Once your cash-out refinance has closed, all funding requirements have been satisfied, and any applicable rescission period has expired, the settlement or closing agent coordinates the disbursement of your funds.

Depending on the transaction and settlement agent’s procedures, your proceeds may be provided through:

• Wire transfer: Funds are sent to an eligible bank account using verified instructions.
• Check: A check may be issued or delivered according to the closing agent’s available procedures.

Your closing agent will explain which methods are available and confirm the information needed.

If you’re receiving funds by wire, always verify instructions directly with the closing agent using a trusted phone number. This can help protect you from fraudulent payment instructions.

You can begin with our Mortgage Refinance Calculator.

Enter your current loan details and the proposed terms you’re considering.

The calculator can help you estimate:

• Current versus new monthly payments
• Interest and mortgage insurance differences
• Remaining loan balances
• Principal repayment
• Upfront refinance expenses
• Potential savings
• Estimated break-even point
• Cash-out proceeds when applicable

You can also select a comparison period to explore how the financial differences develop over time.

These are planning estimates based on the information entered.

For a more personalized review, our loan officers can compare eligible lender pricing and explain what refinancing could mean for your actual mortgage.