Mortgage Strategy
How to Decide Whether to Roll Refi Fees Into the Loan
Rolling fees into the new loan reduces cash needed at closing, but increases principal and long-term interest costs.
When rolling fees can be reasonable
- You need to preserve emergency reserves.
- You still achieve a strong break-even timeline.
- Loan balance remains manageable.
When paying fees upfront can be better
- You have excess cash after reserves.
- You want lower ongoing payment and less interest.
- You plan to keep the loan for many years.
Decision framework: run both scenarios, compare break-even and total payments, then choose the option that best matches your liquidity and timeline.
Run both versions before deciding
- Scenario A: fees paid at close
- Scenario B: fees rolled into loan
- Compare monthly savings, break-even, and long-run cost
Compare Both Refi Fee Scenarios