Believe the hype about those online refi calculators... mine was way off

I used one of those popular refi calculators last Tuesday, you know, the ones that promise quick answers. It said I'd save $320 a month by refinancing my 30-year. So I jumped on it, paid the $400 in fees, and locked in a new rate. Turns out the calculator didn't account for my escrow being recalculated and a weird prepayment penalty clause I'd forgotten about. After closing costs and penalties, my first new payment was actually $85 MORE than my old one. Has anyone else had a calculator screw up their numbers like that? I'm wondering if I can back out now.

3 comments

3 Comments

owens.laura6d ago

Idk maybe its just me but have you actually called your lender yet to ask about backing out? I think most states have a three day rescission period for refis but it sounds like you might already be past that if you locked in last Tuesday. Those calculators are basically just guesses dressed up with pretty graphics and they never ask about the fine print stuff like prepayment penalties or escrow recalculations. Did you happen to save the original calculator results anywhere? Might be worth checking if there was a disclaimer somewhere that said "estimates only" or something because that could help if you push back on the lender.

white.keith7d ago

Man those calculators never factor in the escrow surprise, I got burned the same way last year.

abbyhall6d ago

Yeah I used to be all about those online calculators too... thought they had it all figured out. But @white.keith you're totally right, they never tell you about the escrow part until it hits you. I remember putting my numbers into this one on Zillow and it showed like $1,100 a month. First bill came and it was almost $1,400 because of the shortage from property taxes going up. Should have listened to people like you before I locked in. Now I tell everyone to add at least 10-15% to whatever the estimate says. Too many hidden costs in this whole process.

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