How long should you stay in your house after refinancing? - Cain Mortgage Team (2024)

FAQs

How long should you stay in your house after refinancing? - Cain Mortgage Team? ›

Refinancing does not set a time limit on how long you must remain in your home.

Refinancing too often or leveraging too much home equity

Avoid making the mistake of refinancing excessively to land a low interest rate. The charges to refinance repeatedly could add up over time, negating the benefits. Be wary of also leveraging home equity too often.

How soon after refinancing can you buy another home? Most refinances include a clause requiring you to remain in your home for a year after closing. However, you could buy a second home or vacation home earlier. Homeowners can usually qualify for another mortgage six months after their refi is complete.

If you financed the home as your primary home, you'll need to live there for 12 months before turning it into an investment property. But your lender may make an exception to its occupancy requirements and allow you to rent out your home sooner.

It is possible to sell your house immediately after refinancing – unless your new mortgage contract includes an owner-occupancy clause. It is common for owner-occupancy clauses to require you to stay in your house for six to twelve months before selling or renting it out.

You don't have to lose any equity when you refinance, but there's a chance that it could happen. For example, if you take cash out of your home when you refinance your mortgage or use your equity to pay closing costs, your total home equity will decline by the amount of money you borrow.

When you tap your home's value via a cash-out refinance, you can use the funds for any purpose. That includes making a down payment on your second home or paying for it outright in cash. With a cash-out refinance, you can borrow up to 80% of your existing home's value and use the funds to buy a new house.

The Rules Of Primary Residence

Where you spend the most time. Your legal address listed for tax returns, with the USPS, on your driver's license and on your voter registration card. The home that is near where you work or bank, recreational clubs where you're a member or other family members' homes.

You'll receive additional, passive income. While you live elsewhere, someone occupies your home. You'll maintain equity in your home even while earning rental income. You may be eligible for certain tax deductions.

What happens when you convert a rental property to a primary residence? ›

Once you occupy the home as your personal residence, you will no longer be able to take any of the deductions you took when the property was a rental. This means you will get no depreciation deduction and you can't deduct the cost of repairs.

Refinancing your mortgage does not have to negatively impact your home equity. Just the opposite, in fact: The goal of a refi generally is to get a new loan with lower interest rates, making repayments easier and allowing you to build equity faster.

A refinance takes 30 to 45 days to complete in most cases, but it could always require more or less time depending on a variety of factors. For example, appraisals, inspections and other services that third parties handle can slow down the process.

Once underwriting and the home appraisal are complete, it's time to close your loan. A few days before closing, your lender will send you a document called a Closing Disclosure. It'll contain all the final numbers for your loan. The closing for a refinance is faster than the closing for a home purchase.

You can choose between two different options with a no-closing-cost refinance: either an increased interest percentage or a higher loan balance. Not every lender offers both types of no-closing-cost refinances, so make sure your lender can offer you the option you want.

Refinancing your mortgage does not have to negatively impact your home equity. Just the opposite, in fact: The goal of a refi generally is to get a new loan with lower interest rates, making repayments easier and allowing you to build equity faster.

Refinancing risk refers to the possibility that a borrower will not be able to replace an existing debt with new debt at a critical point in the future. Any company or individual can experience refinancing risk, either because their own credit quality has deteriorated or as a result of market conditions.

The 1% refinancing rule of thumb says that you should consider refinancing your home when you can get an interest rate that is at least one percentage point lower than your current rate.