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Tommy Said:

Is it worth it to get my home refinanced?

We Answered:

Not really - but the amount you have going into escrow reflects the taxes, PMI and insurance. Dig out your last statement, check your payments and see how much goes to principal and interest.

Now, find a mortgage calculator, plug in your balance with 5% interest due over 30 years and calculate the new P&I. Subtract the new P%I from the old P&I and that is your monthly savings (and in real life, your savings are a little less than that because part of the difference comes from extending the loan payments out another 2 years).

Now divide the estimated closing costs by the difference in payments - that is your payback period. If you plan on living in the house longer than the payback period, it makes sense to re-fi, if you plan on selling before the payback period, you would lose money by re-fi'ing.

One note, if your house has depreciated and you are now underwater, I doubt anyone will refinance your mortgage.