We’re a fan of big wins, and refinancing our Mortgage has probably been one of our biggest.  It’ll take about 4 years to recoup the costs of refinancing by what we’re saving monthly but overall the savings are huge.  We’ll be saving over $60k in interest over the course of the loan.

It was a bumpy ride but we learned a lot along the way.  Mostly, that NY sucks and banks are thieves.

• A Refinance is no different than an original mortgage.  It’s treated exactly the same.  Almost as if your buying the house from yourself and you have to pay all the fees.
• Monroe County charges a totally unreasonable Mortgage Tax
• Title insurance doesn’t make any sense.  It’s good for the life of the property but you have to pay it again when you refinance.  No refund, no discount.
• Banks charge outrageous fees.
  • Loan Origination Fees
  • Commitment Fees
  • Application Fees
• Bank require you to pay their lawyer fees on top of all the fees they charge you to begin with.

Lots of fun huh?  Good thing it’ll be worth it in the end.