Your current loan
The new loan
Estimate only — not a commitment to lend. This tool compares principal and interest only; taxes, insurance, and any mortgage insurance are excluded because they generally carry over. Actual savings depend on your credit, the loan program, verified closing costs, and current market pricing. Lifetime interest figures assume both loans are held to term. All loans are subject to credit approval, income and asset verification, and property appraisal. Rates and terms vary and are not guaranteed.
Before you refinance in Texas
Refinancing is arithmetic plus a few Texas-specific rules. Both matter.
Pulling equity from your Texas homestead triggers constitutional rules: an 80% loan-to-value cap, a 12-day waiting period, and specific closing requirements. Rate-and-term refinancing is not bound by them.
Moving from year seven of a 30-year loan back to a fresh 30 lowers the payment but can raise total interest. Watch the lifetime figures above, not just the monthly line.
With enough equity, refinancing from FHA into conventional can eliminate mortgage insurance that would otherwise last the life of the loan — sometimes worth more than the rate change itself.
Break-even only matters relative to your horizon. Selling in two years with a four-year break-even means the refinance costs you money, however good the rate looks.
Next steps
Answers
It's how many months of savings it takes to recoup your closing costs. Divide total closing costs by your monthly savings. If you'll stay in the home well past that point, refinancing generally makes sense; if you might sell before it, it usually doesn't.
No, and this is the most common trap. Restarting a 30-year term on a loan you've already paid down for years lowers the payment while potentially increasing total interest paid over the life of the loan. This calculator shows both the monthly change and the lifetime interest comparison, because they can point in opposite directions.
Significantly. A cash-out refinance on your primary residence is a Texas 50(a)(6) home-equity transaction, subject to the 80% loan-to-value cap, a 12-day waiting period, closing-location rules, and other constitutional protections. A straight rate-and-term refinance with no cash out is not bound by those rules.
It preserves your cash but increases the balance you pay interest on, which pushes the true break-even out further than the simple calculation suggests. This calculator has a toggle so you can compare both ways rather than guess.
Beyond break-even, consider how long you'll stay, whether you're removing FHA mortgage insurance, and whether you're shortening the term. Sometimes the honest answer is 'not yet' — and we'd rather tell you that than write a loan that doesn't help you.
From estimate to real numbers
Calculators estimate. A licensed Texas loan officer confirms — using your actual credit, income, and the real tax rate for the address.
Get my real numbersThis is not a commitment to lend. All loans subject to credit approval, income and asset verification, and property appraisal. Rates and terms vary and are not guaranteed.