If you’re like most people, you’d like to save as much money as possible. That includes paying as little as you can in interest on your loans. Let’s say you hit a windfall in the lottery tomorrow. What might you do with your extra money?
One option is to put down a lump sum toward reducing the principal of your mortgage loan so that you pay less interest. Once you’ve made a lump-sum payment, you can have your monthly payment recalculated with a new mortgage balance while keeping the same interest rate and loan term. This process is called recasting your mortgage.
In this post, we’ll go over what a mortgage recast is, its pros and cons and some alternatives to consider if recasting is not right for you.
What Is A Mortgage Recast?
A mortgage recast, also called a mortgage reamortization, allows a borrower to put down a lump-sum payment toward the principal balance on a mortgage in order to reduce monthly payments. If you were to do this, your term and current interest rate would remain the same. Meanwhile, your loan’s schedule of repayment, or mortgage amortization, is altered, resulting in reduced monthly payments for the remainder of the loan.
See What You Qualify For
Home Purchase
Home Refinance
Tap Into Equity
Eligibility And Guidelines For A Mortgage Recast
Not everyone can recast a mortgage. For example, anyone with a government loan backed by Ginnie Mae is excluded from recasting. These include any FHA, USDA or VA loans. The reason these loans are excluded is related to how they are handled by the government. Jumbo loans are also typically exempt from being able to recast.
It’s important to note that some lenders do not allow recasting, but many do.
Assuming you can recast, lenders will also have their own guidelines about when you can do it. These guidelines are typically as follows:
- There’s usually a minimum principal amount you must pay off before the lender will do a recast, either expressed as a flat amount or as a percentage of the loan balance. It’s common to require that clients make at least $10,000 in principal reduction payments in the year prior to recasting.
- You must make at least two consecutive monthly payments at your current payment amount before a loan can be recast.
- There may be a small fee (typically around $250) associated with the recast.
- There is not typically a limit on how many times someone can recast their loan.
Finally, you should be aware that it can take 45 – 60 days to complete a recast. During this time, you should keep making your regular payment. You’ll be able to make your new, lower payment as soon as you get your first billing statement reflecting the new payment amount.
Should You Reamortize Your Loan?
There is not a one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Like any financial situation, you should evaluate the pros and cons of recasting before making your decision, and be sure to have a conversation with your lender about the consequences of either option. Here are a few points to consider.
Pros
So, why would you choose to recast your mortgage? Typically, there are two main benefits:
- Lower monthly payment: Recasting helps you to lower your monthly mortgage payment for the remainder of the loan. This is because you’ve reduced your principal balance and your loan is re-amortized. This means that it has been recalculated to benefit you over the life of the loan.
- Pay less interest: You will pay less interest due to the smaller principal amount due. This is true even though you are keeping the same loan term and interest rate.
Cons
On the other hand, there are several other outcomes of recasting your mortgage that you should evaluate:
- Length of mortgage: When you recast, the length of your mortgage stays the same. For example, if you recast 5 years into a 30-year mortgage, you will still have 25 years left on your term.
- Interest rate: Just as the length of your mortgage does not change, the interest rate also stays the same. This could be a con if yours is particularly high.
- Tied-up equity: If you apply a lump sum of cash to the principal on your home, you will not have access to that cash in the future. You may want to evaluate how much you need to have on hand before choosing to recast.
- Recasting fees: There is often a fee of about $250 to recast your mortgage. You should ensure that your money is working for you when you recast, and that there are no other fees associated with this decision.
How To Calculate If A Recast Is Right For You
There are two ways to accomplish a major principal reduction: a recast where your monthly payment ends up lower over the same term, and an additional principal payment where your monthly payment ends up staying the same, but with a lower overall principal balance. Let’s look at both of these alternatives.
For this example, let’s assume a $200,000 initial loan balance on a 30-year fixed mortgage at a 4.99% (5.233% APR) interest rate. Let’s say you’ve just freed up $40,000 you want to use toward paying off your mortgage. Different states may have slightly different lending fees that apply. Here, we’ve used Michigan as an example. You can check your own numbers using our amortization calculator.
Let’s look at a recast scenario first.
With A Recast | Before Recast | After Recast | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
Principal | $200,000 | $160,000 | $40,000 |
Monthly Payment | $1,072.43 | $870.81 | $201.62 |
Total Interest (Life Of Mortgage) | $186,071.54 | $151,864.49 | $45,722.17 |
Years Left In Mortgage | 29 | 29 |
Now, let’s say we take the same scenario but make the $40,000 payment toward the principal without recasting the loan.
Without A Recast | Before | After | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
Principal | $200,000 | $160,000 | $40,000 |
Monthly Payment | $1,072.43 | $1,072.43 | $0 |
Total Interest (Life Of Mortgage) | $186,071.54 | $95,935.97 | $90,135.57 |
Years Left In Mortgage | 29 | 19 | 10 |
The Bottom Line
A recast can help ease your monthly budget by reducing your mortgage payment. If you have a lump sum of cash that you can put toward the principal, it can help with mortgage maintenance throughout the life of the loan. If you decide against a recast but would like to reduce your interest payments, you have options.
If you have more questions or want to further explore recasting your home, we are here to help. to see your options so you can make the best financial decision.
Find A Mortgage Today and Lock In Your Rate!
Get matched with a lender that will work for your financial situation.
