Optimal Finance Daily · Sunday, July 26, 2026
Andy Hill recounts refinancing his mortgage in 2012 to lock in a 5% rate, despite having an adjustable rate mortgage at 2.71%. He did this out of unease with the adjustable rate, but his advisor's input is not mentioned. Shortly after, he and his wife sold the home, resulting in a loss of about $13,000 from lost interest payments and refinancing fees.
“Number four, refinancing my mortgage and then moving shortly after. After we got married, the value of my home started to plummet through the great recession. And in 2010, I owned a home valued at $140,000, but I owed $180,000 on it. Yikes. That's when I had a lovely negative net worth.”
“I decided it was smart to refinance my mortgage so I could lock in a rate at 5%. Now, I had an adjustable rate mortgage at the time and my rate had dropped down to 2.71% because the library rate continued to go down.”
“I ended up losing out on about $13,000 through lost interest payments and refinancing fees. This was a really dumb move. Also, to make matters worse, we decided to sell the home just a year later. It made no sense for us to refinance our mortgage when we were planning to move. This was wasted money.”