Three Rules of Thumb for Mortgage Refinancing
by: Stephen L. Nelson, CPA

You might think that deciding to refinance a mortgage requires only a quick comparison of loan interest rates. Unfortunately, thats not really true. Refinancing is trickier than that! Fortunately, three useful rules of thumb can often help you make sense of refinancing opportunities.

Rule 1: Dont Ignore Total Interest Costs

You really want to use refinancing as a way to reduce the total interest cost you pay. While that sounds simple in principle, it is sometimes difficult to do. The interest costs you pay are a function of the interest rate, the loan balance, and the loan term period.

When people refinance, they tend to focus solely on the loan interest rate. But they often dont pay as much attention to the loan term or the loan balance.

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