Refinance Once, Twice When rates fall steadily, refinancing may make sense even if you have done so once already. John and Maria ,. refinanced twice within three months in 1998. To exploit continued decline in rates, the owners refinanced again in December. So by the time you read this, they will already have recouped their up front costs. But when you refinance a second time, all of the points that have not yet been deducted from the first refinancing can be written off in a lump sum.
Many borrowers use a refinance to shorten the term of the mortgage.
The benefit is that you'll build up equity faster and pay far less in total interest over the life of the loan. When we retire, we can scale down and take equity out of the house. If you can't afford the payments on a 15-year mortgage, your next best means of building equity is to refinance for less than 30 years. Thanks to favorable rates, you may be able to do so without boosting your monthly outlay. The best use for the extra cash is to pay off any higher-rate loans you may have.