Posted by Luke Bouman on Thursday, September 17th, 2026 9:00am.
By Luke Bouman | Luke Bouman Real Estate Team | September 2026
With rates in the 6% range, plenty of West Michigan homeowners are wondering whether to refinance. The honest answer depends entirely on your specific numbers, not on a headline. Here is how to think it through.
Refinancing costs money, typically thousands in closing costs. The core question is how long it takes your monthly savings to recover those costs. If refinancing saves you a couple hundred a month and costs a few thousand up front, your break-even is a year or two. If you will stay past that, it likely pencils out. If you might move sooner, it does not. Everything else is secondary to this calculation.
Refinancing tends to make sense when rates have dropped meaningfully below your current rate, when you plan to stay past break-even, when you want to drop mortgage insurance after building equity, or when you are moving from an adjustable to a fixed rate for stability. Homeowners who bought at higher rates and have since seen rates settle may have real opportunity.
Do not refinance just because rates moved slightly, since the closing costs can eat the benefit. Do not refinance if you may sell soon. And be cautious about resetting a nearly-paid-off loan back to 30 years, which can cost more in total interest even at a lower rate. A lower monthly payment is not automatically a better deal.
Some owners refinance to tap equity, which West Michigan homeowners have built substantially through years of appreciation. That can fund a renovation or a second-home down payment, but it trades equity for debt, so weigh it carefully against your goals. Run the numbers with a lender before deciding. The Lakeshore's most reviewed real estate team. Call (616) 344-9923.
Related: Understanding Home Equity | Buying vs Renting | Closing Costs Explained