Refinance vs keep your current mortgage
Interest savings, new fees, health screening, and remaining term compared.
Refinance only when the discounted present-value interest saving exceeds all new costs — origination fee, registration, judicial scrivener, appraisal, and insurance — and you can pass fresh health screening.
Key points
- Refinance: a new rate, new insurance, and possibly a new term.
- Keep: avoid new fees and fresh underwriting.
- Refinancing usually needs new group credit life insurance and health screening.
- A longer new term can lower the payment but raise total interest.
The core trade-off
Refinancing swaps your loan for a new one with a new rate and new group credit life insurance, potentially saving interest but incurring a fresh origination fee, mortgage cancellation and registration, judicial-scrivener costs, appraisal, and insurance differences. Keeping your current mortgage avoids all those costs and a new underwriting process, but you stay on your existing rate. The question is whether the present-value saving beats the total cost of switching.
The decision rule
Refinance only when the discounted present-value savings and any risk improvement clearly exceed all the new costs. That usually means a meaningful rate drop, a substantial remaining balance, and a long enough remaining term for the savings to accumulate. Confirm you can pass the fresh health screening for new insurance, and do not let a longer new term disguise a higher total cost as a lower monthly payment. If the balance is small or the term is short, keeping the current loan is often the right answer.
Key points to carry away: Refinance: a new rate, new insurance, and possibly a new term; Keep: avoid new fees and fresh underwriting; Refinancing usually needs new group credit life insurance and health screening; A longer new term can lower the payment but raise total interest. Use the linked guides and calculators for the full decision, and confirm anything material with the lender, a licensed broker, a judicial scrivener, or a tax accountant before you act.
Who this is for
- Buyers weighing this specific decision
What this is not
- A one-size-fits-all recommendation
- Refinance only when discounted present-value savings exceed all new costs; a lower monthly payment alone is not a saving.
Frequently asked questions
When does refinancing make sense?
When discounted present-value savings and risk improvement exceed all new costs.
Does refinancing require health screening?
Usually, for new group credit life insurance; poor health can restrict standard cover.
Can I extend the term when refinancing?
Sometimes, but extending can increase total interest — a lower monthly payment is not a saving.