This year, mortgage rates have been lower than usual. With refinancing recently recorded as one of the most popular mortgage applications submitted to lenders, it’s clear that most borrowers have taken advantage of this money-saving opportunity—but 1 in every 10 borrowers have surprisingly missed out.

So why aren’t these homeowners taking advantage of such low rates? According to a recent study, there are two main reasons. First, borrowers refuse to refinance because of the “recoup your closing costs” strategy, or the “break-even method”. This means that homeowners think they’ll never recoup their costs by refinancing to a lower rate—but this isn’t true! In fact, this strategy is solely based on that very assumption, so it’s important to calculate if refinancing will actually save you money in the long run to make your decision.

The second reason why homeowners have missed out on mortgage savings is because of the “1% rule”. In the past, lenders encouraged borrowers to refinance if they could get a new rate of at least 1% (100 basis points) lower than their current mortgage—but today, refinancing your mortgage for even less than that can provide great saving opportunities.

No matter which reason you’re using to prevent a refinance, it’s important to remember that the best way to officially decipher how much you could save is to speak with your local lender. If you’d like to personally calculate your potential monthly savings, please see “How To Determine If Refinancing Will Save You Money” or our own Mortgage Calculator.