Divide your total closing costs by your monthly savings. The quotient is the number of months until the refinance pays for itself. If you plan to keep the loan past that point, refinancing is positive expected value.

A refinance where the lender credits enough rebate to cover all closing costs. You pay nothing out of pocket, but your rate is slightly higher than the bare minimum. The calculator above lets you set closing costs to $0 to model this scenario.

When your break-even period exceeds how long you plan to keep the loan, or when closing costs eat most of the rate savings. Also when extending your term resets a near-paid-off loan to 30 years - the lower payment may not offset the additional interest over the new term.

If you can absorb the higher monthly payment, yes - 15-year fixed rates are typically 0.5% to 0.75% lower than 30-year, and you build equity dramatically faster. The pricer above shows both options when you compare loan terms.

Within 0.125% to 0.25% in most cases, assuming you accurately enter loan amount, FICO bracket, LTV, and occupancy. Final rate confirms after credit, income, and appraisal review.