Monthly payment examples below are for a loan amount of $275k ($1,100k on Jumbo). Taxes and insurance not included within the estimate; actual payment amount will be greater.
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What factors determine your VA loan refinance rate?
Like other loan types, VA refinancing rates are affected by a variety of things. Some you can influence, others you can’t. Let’s review a few.
Credit score
A higher credit score predicts it’s more likely a loan will be paid back. That means you’re considered a lower risk and may get a lower interest rate.
Debt-to-income ratio (DTI)
The less debt you have, the more income you have to pay your mortgage. Since the risk you can’t pay is lower, you could get a lower interest rate.
Market conditions
The Federal Reserve (the central bank of the U.S.), inflation and the housing market all affect VA mortgage refinance rates.
Pros and cons of a VA refinance
Pros
Access your home equity. Equity is the difference between your home’s value and what you still owe on it. You can refinance and use your home’s equity to take cash out – up to 100% of its value with a VA loan.
Pay your mortgage off sooner. If you want to be mortgage-free faster, you can refinance to a shorter term.
Lower your monthly payment. You can refinance a VA loan to lower your rate, which usually lowers your payment.
Cons
Your monthly payment will increase if you’re refinancing to take cash out, because your loan amount will increase.
There are costs for getting a new mortgage. Just like when you bought your home, you pay closing costs when refinancing, around 3-6% of the loan amount.
You’ll have to pay the VA funding fee. This fee is roughly 2-3% of the loan amount, but can be lower or waived in some cases.
VA loan refinance rates frequently asked questions
Like many things about mortgages, it depends. There are different requirements for how soon you can refinance a VA loan to take cash out, and how soon you can refinance to lower your rate. For the latter, typically you need to wait at least 210 days from the day of your first payment on the existing loan before you can refinance.
To refinance to take cash out, you could need to wait at least 6 months, possibly more. Talk to us to find out what applies to you.
That’s exactly what our Home Loan Experts help you figure out when you apply to refinance. They’ll ask about your goals, look at your current mortgage and see what makes sense financially for you.
Like most other kinds of home loans, you can refinance a VA loan to take cash out, change the length of your mortgage (the term) or your interest rate.
If you already have a VA loan, you have an additional option: the Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan (IRRRL). It’s also called a streamline refinance because you may be able to skip the appraisal, need less paperwork and it takes less time than a “regular” refinance. You can’t take cash out with an IRRRL, though. Our Home Loan Experts can help you understand the options that are right for you.
Refinancing a mortgage has fees and costs similar to getting a mortgage when you buy a home. These can range from 3-6% of the loan amount. In addition, when refinancing a VA loan you’ll need to pay the VA Funding Fee, roughly 2-3% of the loan amount. For a VA IRRRL (Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan), the funding fee is lower.
Refinancing is replacing your current mortgage with a new one. The steps are similar no matter what loan type. You apply, discuss your options with a Home Loan Expert, start the process of getting your new mortgage, and close your loan.
Refinancing a VA loan does have some differences compared to a conventional loan – what most people know as the common 30-year fixed mortgage. At Rocket Mortgage, they can include the following:
- You can have lower credit when refinancing a VA loan, as low as 580.
- You can refinance more of your home’s value with a VA loan, up to 100%.
- You’ll have to pay the VA Funding Fee when refinancing a VA loan, but no mortgage insurance.
- With a VA loan, you have the option of a streamline refinance, the Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan, or IRRRL.
Since we’re a VA-approved lender, our Home Loan Experts can walk you through any differences you need to know.
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