Home Refinance Calculator

Refinancing replaces your existing mortgage with a new loan. The new loan pays off the old one, and you continue making payments under the new rate, term, and structure. Homeowners commonly refinance to seek a lower monthly payment, shorten or extend their repayment timeline, or adjust their loan structure to better match their goals.

Because program requirements and availability vary by lender, borrower, and property, Anchor Capital Lending helps homeowners review and compare available refinancing options. A refinancing decision depends on your full scenario, including your current loan, goals, expected time in the home, and total borrowing costs over time.

A rate-and-term refinance replaces your current mortgage with a new loan primarily to change the interest rate, the repayment term, or both — without significantly changing the loan balance. It is one of the most common refinancing approaches and is the scenario this calculator is designed to compare.

A cash-out refinance, which increases the loan balance to access home equity, is a related but separate product with its own considerations. Anchor Capital Lending can help you review both approaches when you discuss your scenario with the lending team.

A lower monthly payment is not the same as lower total borrowing costs. Refinancing into a longer term can reduce the monthly payment while increasing the total interest paid over the life of the loan — especially when the existing loan has already been paying down for several years.

This calculator shows both sides: the estimated monthly payment change and the estimated difference in total interest. Reviewing both together helps you understand the trade-off between short-term cash flow and long-term cost before speaking with a mortgage professional.

Refinancing typically involves closing costs, which may include lender fees, appraisal costs, title charges, recording fees, and other expenses. These costs vary by lender, loan program, property, and location. This calculator assumes closing costs are paid upfront rather than added to the new loan balance.

Because closing costs are paid upfront, they are part of the break-even calculation: the estimated monthly savings must offset the upfront costs before the refinancing begins to improve cash flow. Your actual closing costs will be provided during a personalized review with the lending team.

The break-even point is the estimated time it takes for monthly payment savings to offset the upfront closing costs. If closing costs are $5,000 and the estimated monthly savings are $100, the estimated break-even is 50 months — about 4 years and 2 months.

Your expected time in the home is central to this comparison. If you expect to keep the home well beyond the break-even point, the refinancing may be worth exploring further. If you expect to move or sell sooner, the upfront costs may not be recovered through payment savings. The calculator compares the break-even point against the timeline you select.

Extending the repayment term is one way to lower the monthly payment, but it spreads the balance over more months of interest charges. In many cases the total interest paid over the life of the new loan exceeds the remaining interest on the current loan, even though the monthly payment is lower.

This is not automatically a bad outcome — lower payments may support other financial goals — but it is a trade-off worth understanding. The calculator displays the interest difference alongside the payment change so you can see both, and a mortgage professional can help you evaluate the approach that fits your situation.