Mortgages & Home Loans Mortgage Refinancing Mortgage Recast vs. Refinance: Which Is Better? By Justin Pritchard Updated on October 30, 2021 Reviewed by Marguerita Cheng In This Article View All In This Article Recasting vs. Refinancing Pros and Cons of Recasting Pros and Cons of Refinancing Alternative: Don’t Do Either Photo: Oscar Wong / Getty Images If you’re looking to save money on your mortgage, you have several options. Refinancing and recasting a mortgage will both bring savings, including a lower monthly payment and the potential to pay less in interest costs. However, the mechanics are different, and there are pros and cons with each strategy, so it’s critical to choose the right one. If cash flow is not an issue and you can comfortably handle your monthly payment, the choice might be easy: It may be best to recast or simply pay extra on your mortgage if your goal is to minimize interest charges. Key Takeaways Recasting changes your loan balance after you have paid a large amount, creating a lower monthly payment.Refinancing is applying for a new loan to replace your old mortgage, often with better terms, such as lower interest.Recasting is less expensive and easier to get approved for, and it reduces your monthly expenses, but it does not change your loan terms or interest rate.Refinancing is more expensive and involves closing costs, but saves you significant money if you get a lower interest rate and lower monthly payment. Recasting vs. Refinancing What’s the difference between recasting and refinancing your home loan? Let’s compare and contrast. Recasting Recasting happens when you make changes to your existing loan after prepaying a substantial amount of your loan balance. For example, you might make a sizeable lump-sum payment, or you might have added extra to your monthly mortgage payments over the years, putting you well ahead of schedule on your debt repayment. Your lender recalculates your monthly payments based on your lower-than-projected loan balance, resulting in a lower required monthly payment. Because your loan balance is smaller, you also pay less interest over the remaining life of your loan. Refinancing Refinancing happens when you apply for a new loan and use it to replace an existing mortgage. Your new lender pays off the loan with your old lender, and you make payments to your new lender going forward. Your loan should be smaller than it was when you originally borrowed, so you'll enjoy having a lower monthly payment. Note In many cases, it makes the most financial sense to refinance if you’re getting a substantially lower interest rate. That might help you spend less on interest, but you could actually spend more. Pros and Cons of Recasting The main advantage of recasting is simplicity. Your lender may have a program that makes recasting easier than applying for a new loan. Lenders charge a modest fee for the service, which you should more than recoup after several months of improved cash flow. Approval Qualifying for a recast is different from qualifying for a new loan, and you might get approved for a recast even when refinancing is not possible for you. You already have the loan—you’re just asking for a recalculation of the amortization schedule. You might not need to provide proof of income, document your assets (and where they came from), or make sure that your credit scores are free of problems.Lenders may require you prepay a minimum amount before you qualify for recasting.Government programs such as FHA and VA loans generally don’t qualify for recasting.Recasting for jumbo loans is not available from all lenders. Interest Rate and Payment When you recast a loan, the interest rate typically does not change (but it often changes when you refinance). Several details determine your monthly payment: the number of payments remaining, the loan balance, and the interest rate. But when you recast, your lender only changes your loan balance. Note Recasting a loan is not the same as loan modification. If you’re under water and facing financial hardship, there might be other ways to change the terms of your loan or refinance. Pros and Cons of Refinancing Like recasting, refinancing also lowers your payment (usually), but that’s because you restart the clock on your loan. New Features The primary reasons to refinance are to secure a lower monthly payment, change the features on your loan, and possibly get a lower interest rate (but lower rates might not be available, depending on when you borrow). If you get a new loan, you get to choose how long it will be structured, such as a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, a 15-year fixed-rate loan, or an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM)? Higher Costs Getting a new loan typically costs more than a recast. You may have to pay closing costs, including appraisal fees, origination fees, and more. The biggest cost might be the extra interest you'll pay. If you stretch out your loan over a long period of time (getting another 30-year loan after paying down your existing loan for several years), you'll have to start from scratch. With most loans, you pay more interest in the early years, and you pay down most of the principal in the later years. A new long-term loan puts you back in those early, interest-heavy years. To see an example of how you pay principal and interest, run some numbers with our mortgage calculator. Alternative: Don’t Do Either If you really want to save money, the best choice might be to pass on recasting and refinancing. Instead, pay extra on your mortgage (whether in a lump sum or over time), and avoid the temptation to switch to a lower monthly payment. If you recast, you gain the ability to make smaller payments, which might feel nice, but you won’t pay off debt any sooner that way. Note If you refinance, you might actually pay off your loan later than you would have originally, and you'll keep paying interest along the way. If you pay extra periodically and continue making the original monthly payment, you’ll save money on interest and pay off your mortgage early. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit Sources The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. USAGov. "Mortgages." Chase Bank. "Mortgage Recast." Federal Reserve Board. "A Consumer's Guide to Mortgage Refinancings."