Current refinance guidelines, updated from one source.
The block below holds the figures that frame a refinance file, read from Lendmire’s guideline sources and refreshed on this page when the agencies, HUD, VA, or the wholesale overlays change: the conventional leverage and the mortgage-insurance line, the streamline rules for an existing FHA loan, the IRRRL fee and seasoning for an existing VA loan, and the credit and ratio figures. The ladder underneath lists every route.
One-unit principal residence; mortgage insurance above 80%
Conventional leverage for a rate-and-term file: 95% of value on a one-unit principal residence, 97% on the first-time-buyer programs where allowed, with the old loan, the costs, and a purchase-money second inside the new balance. Mortgage insurance attaches above 80%, may be cancelled on request at 80% of the original value, and ends on its own at 78%.
An existing FHA loan, refinanced with a net tangible benefit and a limited credit review
For a Franklin owner with an FHA loan, the streamline refinances it with no appraisal and a limited credit review, provided the new loan passes HUD’s net tangible benefit test and the old loan is seasoned with the required payment history. FHA mortgage insurance stays on; leaving it behind means a conventional refinance at or below the no-insurance line instead.
An existing VA loan, no VA appraisal; seasoning of 210 days and six payments
The IRRRL is VA’s streamline: it refinances an existing VA loan with no VA appraisal, a 0.5% fee unless the veteran is exempt, and a net tangible benefit to the veteran, and it cannot close until the old loan has seasoned 210 days and six payments. Where the new loan does not exceed the payoff, the fees and costs must be recouped through the lower payment within VA’s recoupment window.
DTI to 50%; jumbo from 660 on its lanes
The credit floor behind these pages is 620 on the wholesale conventional programs, and the automated finding sets the ratio ceiling at 50% with compensating strength in the file. Above the conforming limit the jumbo lanes take over, from a 660 score on the headline lane, to 90% loan-to-value, with loans to $5,000,000 and a ratio ceiling of 50% on the fixed lanes.
| Program | Loan being replaced / occupancy | Maximum LTV | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conventional rate-and-term (Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac) | One-unit principal residence | 95% | limited cash-out: the old loan, the closing costs and a purchase-money second roll in, incidental cash only; 97% where the existing loan is agency-owned and the first-time-buyer program allows; mortgage insurance above 80% |
| FHA streamline | Existing FHA-insured loan | No LTV test | appraisal not required; net tangible benefit; limited credit review; the previous loan’s seasoning and payment history apply; FHA mortgage insurance continues |
| FHA rate-and-term | Principal residence (owner-occupied the previous twelve months) | 97.75% | with an appraisal and full credit review; FHA mortgage insurance on the new loan |
| VA IRRRL | Existing VA loan; a home the veteran previously occupied | No LTV test | 0.5% funding fee (financeable; exempt veterans pay none); no VA appraisal; net tangible benefit; seasoning the later of 210 days and six payments |
| Jumbo rate-and-term (wholesale lanes) | Above the conforming limit | 90% | 660+ score on the headline lane, loans to $5,000,000, DTI to 50% on the fixed lanes; reserves and the appraisal count per the lane |
A refinance that returns cash is a cash-out refinance and is covered by the conventional, FHA, VA and jumbo cash-out programs; a line of credit that leaves the first mortgage in place is the HELOC program. Each carries its own leverage and its own rules.
Current refinance snapshot · updated October 3, 2026 · a refinance replaces the whole loan and restarts the term unless a shorter term is chosen · closing costs are paid from the loan or at closing and are recovered only through the monthly saving · conforming limits apply by county and are confirmed by a Lendmire loan officer · Lendmire is a broker licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages, never the lender.
Guidelines, not an offer. The leverage, the mortgage-insurance lines, the streamline and IRRRL conditions, the credit floors, and the ratio ceilings are agency, HUD, VA, and wholesale parameters read from Lendmire’s guideline sources on the date shown, subject to change without notice and to full underwriting. Nothing here is a rate, a payment, or a fee quote; the calculator uses a published benchmark. Lendmire LLC, NMLS #2371349, is a mortgage broker, not a lender, licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages. Not legal or tax advice.
What a rate-and-term refinance is — and how the file is qualified.
A rate-and-term refinance is simple to describe and particular in its rules. The four cards below cover what the new loan is and what it may pay off, which of the four programs applies to the loan being replaced, how the benefit test and the break-even decide whether the refinance pays, and what to do when the real goal is cash rather than terms.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s refinance program, or the statewide guide at Refinance in Tennessee; when the goal is cash, see the cash-out refinance program.
One new loan replaces the old one
Mechanically the file is a payoff and a new note. The lender orders the payoff of the existing first mortgage, adds the closing costs and the prepaid items if the borrower rolls them in, includes a purchase-money second where one exists, and writes a new loan for the total on the chosen term. The homeowner keeps the home and the equity and exchanges the old terms for the new.
Four programs, one question: which applies
Match the program to the loan being replaced. FHA to FHA: the streamline, no appraisal, limited review, premium continues. VA to VA: the IRRRL, no VA appraisal, a small fee, a benefit test. Anything to conventional: an appraisal, the leverage cap, and no mortgage insurance at or below the line. Above the conforming limit on any route: the jumbo lanes, with their own scores and reserves.
The benefit test and the break-even
A refinance pays when the owner keeps the loan past the break-even and the term reset does not give back the saving in interest. On an FHA streamline or a VA IRRRL the new loan must also deliver a net tangible benefit as the agency defines it, and VA requires the fees and costs to be recouped within its window when the new loan does not exceed the payoff. The Franklin calculator below runs these figures.
When the goal is cash, not terms
Equity can be borrowed two ways, by replacing the first mortgage with a larger one or by adding a line behind it, and neither is a rate-and-term refinance. When the question in Franklin is how much cash the home can release, the answer is in the cash-out guides; when the existing first mortgage is worth keeping, it is in the HELOC guide. This page covers the loan that changes terms and nothing else.
Nothing in the formula is a quote. The new rate is a published weekly benchmark you can overwrite, the costs are your estimate, and the result is the shape of a Franklin refinance, not its terms: the loan, the payment, the saving, the break-even, and the interest comparison, which a loan officer then prices in writing.
Where Franklin’s mortgages were written — and what a refinance changes.
A refinance is written against a local market, and these are Franklin’s numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau: how many households own their homes, what a typical home is worth, and what households earn. Together they describe the mortgages in the market and the payments its owners carry.
These are context figures, not underwriting inputs. Where values have risen since the mortgage was written, the refinance often sheds mortgage insurance on its own; where they have not, the leverage cap and the premium line do more of the deciding. The rules are constant; the cushion is local.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Franklin neighborhoods, distinct refinance questions.
The Franklin submarkets below show where the mortgages sit and what a refinance there asks: the program the existing loan points to, the value the cap is tested against, and the costs the saving has to recover.
Two- to four-unit homes
The two- to four-unit file is the standard Franklin refinance with two additions: the occupancy’s own leverage, confirmed for the file, and the rental income from the other units, counted as the agencies permit. The term and break-even arithmetic is unchanged, and the owner-occupied status keeps the rescission period. Roughly 21,687 Franklin households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 64% of all households, the pool a refinance draws on.
Condominiums and townhomes
A Franklin condominium refinances on the conventional route with the unit appraised and the project reviewed, and the dues enter the ratio. A project that passed at purchase usually passes again; one that has changed hands or added investors may not, and the loan officer collects the association’s documents before ordering the appraisal so the question is answered early. Median household income in Franklin sits near $119,528 on the latest Census estimate.
High-value homes near the limit
The conforming limit, confirmed per county rather than printed here, is the line between two rulebooks on a Franklin refinance. Fixed, adjustable, and interest-only jumbo structures exist above it, each on its own lane; below it the agencies’ figures in the snapshot govern. The review places the loan with the costs included before choosing. Franklin is home to about 87K people and sits within the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN area.
Rentals held for years
Landlords in Franklin refinance long-held rentals to fix a rate or shorten a term more often than to lower a payment, because the rent carries the loan either way. The conventional and jumbo routes serve the occupancy at its own leverage; the IRRRL serves a veteran who once lived in the home; the investment cash-out guide covers equity taken out. About 36% of Franklin’s households rent — roughly 12,311 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Newer infill and recent purchases
Recent purchases refinance for terms rather than for equity. The conventional cap in the snapshot is generous enough for most Franklin files, and the question is whether the new loan lands above or below the insurance line; rolling the costs in can push it over, paying them at closing can keep it under, and the review places it before the appraisal. The median owner-occupied home value in Franklin runs near $705,400 on the latest Census estimate.
Long-held close-in homes
An owner on a close-in Franklin street with years of payments behind the loan is the classic shorter-term candidate: the appraisal is a formality, the loan sits far below the insurance line, and the interest saved by compressing the remaining years is the whole point. The calculator’s interest comparison is where that decision is made. On a one-unit principal residence at Franklin’s median value, a conventional rate-and-term refinance at the leverage cap allows a new loan up to $670,000 where the county limit allows it, and that loan may pay off the existing loan, the closing costs, and a purchase-money second lien.
Neighborhood moves the appraisal and the equity cushion; the program stays put. Wherever in Franklin the home sits, the leverage, the mortgage-insurance line, the streamline and IRRRL conditions, and the credit figures are the ones in the snapshot.
Four reasons Franklin homeowners rewrite the mortgage.
The purpose of a refinance decides its shape. The four cards below take the common Franklin purposes one at a time: what the homeowner is after, which program delivers it, and the figure in the file that decides whether it works.
Fold in a purchase-money second lien
Two loans into one is a rate-and-term refinance when the second was part of the purchase. The payoff of both, plus the costs, becomes the new balance and is tested against the cap; the file is otherwise ordinary. A Franklin owner whose second lien was opened after the purchase, or who drew on a line later, is reading the cash-out guide, not this one.
Fix an adjustable rate
A Franklin owner with an adjustable loan refinances for a reason the calculator cannot fully price: the next reset. The new loan is fixed for its term, the payment is known for every month of it, and the cost is the closing costs and whatever the fixed rate adds over the current adjustable payment. VA counts the conversion as a benefit on its own.
Shorten the term
Moving from a thirty-year to a shorter fixed term raises the payment and cuts the interest paid over the life of the loan, often sharply. The file is qualified on the higher payment, so the ratio matters more than on a payment-lowering refinance, and a Franklin owner with rising income and years of equity is the typical candidate.
Get rid of mortgage insurance
An FHA borrower whose home has gained value can refinance into a conventional loan at or below the no-insurance line and leave the premium behind for good; a conventional borrower paying private mortgage insurance can do the same, or can ask the servicer to cancel it at the published line without refinancing at all. The appraisal sets the value, and the value decides which route is open.
Estimate the new payment and the break-even on a Franklin home before requesting a quote.
The calculator does the refinance arithmetic for a Franklin home: current payment from the balance, the current rate and the years remaining; new payment from the new loan, the new term and the benchmark rate; the saving between them; the break-even on the costs; and the interest comparison that prices the term reset. Choose the program to apply its cap, its insurance line, or its fee.
Franklin refinance savings and break-even estimate
Seeded near Franklin’s median value (rounded) and a proportional balance; the current rate and the years remaining are yours to enter, and the costs are an editable placeholder, not a quote.
Editable benchmark: 7.28% as of October 1, 2026 · Freddie Mac 30-year average via FRED®. A conventional market reference, not a refinance quote.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $705,000 home value near Franklin’s median owner-occupied value, a $493,000 current balance, a current rate you enter and a remaining term seeded at twenty-five years, closing costs seeded at $10,000 as an editable placeholder (not a fee quote) and rolled into the new loan, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, and property taxes and insurance estimated for Tennessee (U.S. Census Bureau). Every field is editable.
Illustrative estimate only — not a Loan Estimate, approval, quote, or commitment to lend. The new rate field carries the weekly Freddie Mac thirty-year conventional benchmark, a market reference and not a refinance quote; a refinance is priced by the lender at lock, and the current rate, the remaining term and the closing costs are figures you enter. The current payment is estimated from the balance, the current rate and the remaining term; the break-even divides the closing costs by the monthly saving and ignores the interest effect of a longer term. On the VA IRRRL the funding fee is added to the loan unless the veteran is exempt. Taxes and insurance are editable estimates. Licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages; Lendmire is a broker, never the lender.
Same home, four ways to refinance it.
Which refinance fits depends on the loan being replaced, the balance, and what the owner wants from the new loan. The cards compare the conventional route, the government streamlines, and the jumbo lanes on the same Franklin questions: the appraisal, the leverage, the insurance, the fee, and the review.
Conventional, streamline, or jumbo.
Conventional is the refinance for most Franklin homeowners: an appraisal, the agencies’ leverage cap, a full credit and income review, and mortgage insurance only above the published line. It fits a lower payment, a shorter term, an FHA exit, an ARM converted to fixed, or a borrower removed, and it applies to any loan being replaced inside the conforming limit. See the conventional loan program.
The government streamlines refinance the government loan already on the home and nothing else. FHA loans go to FHA loans with no appraisal and a limited review. VA loans go to VA loans with no VA appraisal, the fee inside the loan, and a benefit test. Both follow the agency’s seasoning clock. They are the quickest route to a lower payment or a fixed rate for an eligible Franklin owner, and the wrong route for shedding FHA insurance. See the FHA and VA programs.
For balances above the conforming limit, the jumbo lanes refinance rate-and-term with their own rulebook: the score floor in the snapshot on the headline lane, leverage to the lane’s cap, reserves per the lane, and a second appraisal above the lane’s threshold. The arithmetic is the same as any refinance; the file asks more of the Franklin borrower’s documents and liquidity. See the jumbo loan program.
Refinance conventionally when the loan is conventional, when an FHA premium should end, or when a borrower must come off a loan the streamline cannot serve; use the FHA streamline or the VA IRRRL when the loan is already FHA or VA and the goal is a lower payment or a fixed rate; go to the jumbo lanes when the balance is above the limit. Go to the cash-out guides when the goal is cash.
What to prepare for a Franklin scenario review.
A conventional refinance documents income, assets, the property, and the loan being replaced; a streamline or an IRRRL documents mostly the loan being replaced. Here is the full set a Franklin review may ask for, so nothing waits on paperwork.
This is a general preparation guide, not a universal checklist. The selected lender may request additional information based on the transaction, the property, the automated finding, and the income picture. Nothing here is legal or tax advice.
Local details that can change the loan.
A handful of details decide whether a Franklin refinance closes as planned, closes on different terms, or should not close at all. These are the ones that come up most.
Use these checks to keep the Franklin file clean and fundable.
Before the appraisal is ordered: run the break-even on realistic costs, compare the interest over the new term with what remains on the old loan, and confirm which program the existing loan points to for the Franklin home.
- Run the break-even: Costs rolled into the loan lengthen the break-even slightly; costs paid at closing shorten it.
- Weigh the reset: A longer term lowers the payment and can raise the total interest.
- Confirm the second lien: A purchase-money second rolls into a rate-and-term refinance.
The costs are recovered only through the saving
Closing costs are paid from the loan or at the table, and the only thing that earns them back is the monthly saving. Divide the costs by the saving and the result is the number of months the Franklin owner must keep the new loan to come out even; an owner planning to sell or refinance again before then is paying for a loan they will not use.
The term starts over unless you choose a shorter one
Two refinances with the same rate can produce opposite results: one lengthens the loan and lowers the payment, the other shortens it and lowers the total interest. Which is right depends on what the Franklin owner needs each month and how long they will hold the home. The calculator’s interest comparison is where that decision is made.
A second lien decides whether this is rate-and-term at all
Before a Franklin file is sized, the loan officer asks when any second lien was opened. Purchase-money: it rolls in and the refinance stays rate-and-term. Opened later, the second lien gives the file two routes: paid off through the new loan, the refinance is a cash-out under the agency rules and the cash-out guide applies; left in place and re-subordinated behind the new first mortgage, the file stays rate-and-term.
The appraisal decides the conventional and jumbo routes
Expect an appraisal on the conventional and jumbo routes and none on an FHA streamline or a VA IRRRL. Improvements count to the extent the market pays for them; comparable sales decide the rest. A value that disappoints leaves three options for a Franklin owner: a smaller loan, a reconsideration with better comparables where they exist, or waiting.
The rescission period on a principal residence
A refinance of the home you live in carries a rescission period after signing, during which the borrower may cancel; the old loan is paid off and the new one funds only after it has run. The first payment on the new loan follows the funding date, and a Franklin owner should plan the old loan’s last payment and the new loan’s first around it.
From a Franklin scenario review to a new first payment.
Four steps, in the order that protects the Franklin owner’s money: review the break-even and the program; apply and receive the finding; appraise where the program requires it and underwrite; close, wait out the rescission period on a principal residence, and fund.
Scenario review
The review settles the shape of a Franklin file: which program, which term, whether the saving recovers the costs, whether the term reset gives the saving back, and whether the value supports the plan. The answer is written terms and a break-even figure, or a plain recommendation not to refinance yet.
Application and automated finding
The application turns the reviewed scenario into a file. For most Franklin refinances the automated finding arrives quickly and lists the documents; for a streamline it is the agency’s checklist instead. Either way the appraisal, where one applies, is ordered only after this step.
Appraisal and underwriting
The appraiser fixes the value and the underwriter confirms the rest: credit, income, assets, the second lien’s origin, the project on a condominium, the seasoning on a streamline or an IRRRL. A value under the plan resizes the loan or moves it across the insurance line; the review was run with room beneath it for exactly that reason.
Closing, rescission, and funding
At closing the new loan is signed, the payoff is ordered, and after the rescission period on a home the borrower lives in, the old loan is retired and the new one begins. Second homes and investment property fund without the wait. The new servicer sends the first statement, and any saving the review showed starts with it.
A brokerage that runs the break-even honestly.
Lendmire is a mortgage brokerage licensed to arrange consumer mortgages in sixteen states, and on a refinance that buys three things: the break-even run honestly, with a plain recommendation not to refinance when the numbers say so; the file shopped across several wholesale programs rather than one; and terms in writing before the appraisal is ordered.
The break-even, run before anything else
A brokerage earns nothing by talking a Franklin owner out of a refinance, which is why the honest version of the review is worth having. The break-even and the interest comparison come first, and the answer follows them.
Shopped across wholesale programs
Lendmire places the file with the wholesale program that fits it, conventional, FHA, VA, or jumbo, rather than with the one program a single lender sells. A Franklin refinance is compared on the same numbers across programs before a route is chosen.
Terms in writing, before any fee
An appraisal fee on a refinance that cannot pay for itself is money wasted, so the written terms come first and the appraisal second. The owner sees the new loan, the payment, the saving, and the break-even before any fee is charged.
Trusted by homeowners & families alike.
Franklin refinance FAQs
Before you request a Franklin refinance review, learn when a refinance makes sense, what it costs to get there, which program fits the loan you have, and what to expect from the process.
What is a rate-and-term refinance, and how is it different from a cash-out?
It is the refinance that changes the loan and leaves the equity alone. The balance, the costs, and a purchase-money second become one new loan on a new term; nothing comes back as cash. If a Franklin owner wants money at closing, the cash-out programs are the right ones, and this page says so plainly rather than sizing the wrong loan.
When does refinancing actually make sense?
Run three numbers: the costs divided by the monthly saving, which is the break-even; the interest over the new term against what remains on the old loan; and how long you expect to keep the home. If the break-even is comfortably inside your horizon and the term reset does not erase the saving, it pays. If not, waiting is the better refinance.
What does a refinance cost to close?
Closing costs on a Franklin refinance are the price of the new loan: origination and third-party charges, prepaids, title, and recording, plus the IRRRL fee on a VA file. The written terms list them; the calculator lets you enter your estimate and shows how long the saving takes to recover them. Rolling them in avoids cash at closing and adds them to the balance.
Can I get rid of mortgage insurance by refinancing?
For FHA borrowers, yes, by refinancing conventionally at or below the line; the streamline keeps the premium. For conventional borrowers, often without refinancing, by asking the servicer to cancel at the published line; a refinance helps when rising values would clear the line on a new appraisal before the balance would on its own.
What is an FHA streamline, and who can use it?
The FHA streamline refinances an existing FHA-insured loan into a new FHA loan with no appraisal, a limited credit review, and a requirement that the new loan deliver a net tangible benefit as HUD defines it; the previous loan’s seasoning and payment-history rules apply, and FHA mortgage insurance continues on the new loan. Only a borrower whose current loan is FHA can use it, and a borrower who wants the premium gone refinances conventionally instead.
Will I need an appraisal, and what if it comes in low?
A conventional refinance needs an appraisal, or an agency value acceptance where offered. The largest jumbo loans need two appraisals, and a streamline or an IRRRL needs none. A value below the plan is handled by resizing, by paying costs at closing to keep the loan under the line, or by waiting; it is rarely the end of a Franklin file reviewed on a cautious value.
What if I want cash out of my home as well?
Read the cash-out guide instead, or the HELOC guide if the current first mortgage is worth keeping. A rate-and-term refinance is the wrong instrument for cash, and the agencies treat a refinance that pays off a later second lien or returns more than incidental cash as a cash-out regardless of what it is called.
Is the rate in the calculator what I would get?
The calculator’s rate is a published survey average, not an offer. It exists so the payment, the saving, and the break-even can be estimated before a quote; the quote itself comes from the lender for the specific file and is given in writing. Edit the field freely.
How soon after buying or refinancing can I refinance again?
Conventional: no agency clock on the old loan, only the break-even. VA IRRRL: the seasoning in the snapshot, measured in days from the first payment and in payments made. FHA streamline: the previous loan’s seasoning and payment history. The second refinance pays only when the second set of costs is recovered by the second saving.
How long does a refinance take?
Long enough for the appraisal and the review on a conventional file, shorter on a streamline or an IRRRL with no appraisal, plus the rescission period on a home the borrower lives in. Lendmire does not quote closing speed; it gives written terms first and a realistic calendar second.
A Franklin mortgage, rewritten on current terms.
A Franklin refinance starts with arithmetic and ends with written terms. Send the mortgage statement and the goal; the loan officer returns the program, the new loan, the payment, the saving, and the months to break even, and orders nothing until you agree.
This guide covers Franklin — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see Refinance in Tennessee, part of Lendmire’s refinance program.
Nearby markets in Tennessee: Spring Hill · Nashville · Smyrna · Columbia · Murfreesboro · Hendersonville · Lebanon · Gallatin
Related programs: Cash-Out Refinance · Conventional Loans · HELOC