Mortgage Refinance in Boston, MA
Most Boston owners hold a condo, and the refinance you ask for decides if the lender examines your building. We’ll tell you plainly if refinancing helps you, and say so when it doesn’t.
Free Quick Chat
Tell us what you own and what you want the refinance to do. A licensed loan officer calls you back. No credit pull to start.
We can pre-qualify you and show you options from several lenders. GoldCoast is a mortgage broker, not a lender.Thank you
Your request is in. A licensed loan officer will call you back, usually the same day. If it’s urgent, call 978-922-4446.
Figures from the City of Boston’s assessment rolls, matched parcel by parcel, fiscal 2022 against fiscal 2026.
Boston Refinances in 2026
Your 2021 Rate
Freddie Mac’s survey of 30-year fixed rates averaged 3.11 percent in 2020 and 2.96 percent in 2021. A new loan to change a rate from then will almost never leave you better off.
So a 2026 refinance is usually about equity for a renovation, dropping mortgage insurance, paying off debt or buying out a co-owner.
Cash-Out Ceilings
How much of your value a cash-out refinance can reach depends on the building.
| Condo or single, you live there | 80% |
|---|---|
| Two to four units, you live there | 75% |
Above the national baseline, a three-unit loan in Suffolk County counts as high-balance and is capped at 75% even with no cash out.
What Affects a Boston Refinance
No-Cash Waiver
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac skip condo project review on their own no-cash-out refinances at 80 percent of value or less. Take any cash and the association’s finances come into scope.
Why this catches Boston owners
An owner holding a 2021 rate has no reason to do the no-cash version, so most Boston condo refinances now put the building under review. We’ll tell you which one you’re walking into first.
Big Buildings
90.9 percent of Boston’s 10,889 condo associations have ten units or fewer, which skips review. Yet 53.4 percent of condo units are in the 994 associations of eleven or more.
Where review bites hardest
22,897 of those units are in buildings put up before 1980. The eleven-to-twenty-unit band has the lowest median assessed value of any Boston condo group, $540,300. The buildings most exposed to a full review aren’t the expensive ones.
BERDO Assessments
Boston’s emissions ordinance covers residential buildings of 15 or more units. Paying for the upgrades means special assessments, and a lender has to review every one.
How an ordinance reaches your loan
The City’s own guidance for condo boards says an assessment, or an owner’s share of an association loan, becomes a lien on the unit until paid. Freddie Mac requires the lender to look at assessments the owners approved even before collection starts.
Refinancing on the Water
is the date on the flood maps now in force for the Boston waterfront. Federal law bars a lender from making, increasing, extending or renewing a loan in a high-risk zone without flood insurance, so a refinance gets a fresh flood check.
A private flood policy can satisfy the lender. In the Seaport, East Boston and Charlestown the zone can change within one block.
Check your address with usLive FEMA flood layer. Official determinations: FEMA's Map Service Center.
Boston Refinance Details
FHA Insurance Exit
On FHA loans with case numbers from June 3, 2013 onward, the annual premium runs as long as you keep the loan. Refinancing into a conventional loan is the way out. Conventional PMI ends on its own at 78 percent.
No Deed Excise
The Massachusetts deed excise comes with a sale, so a refinance doesn't trigger it. You'll still see title work, lender charges and the $205 Suffolk fee to record the mortgage.
Exemption Stays
Boston's residential exemption follows who lives there. Check that the new escrow uses your exempted bill, worth $4,353.74 a year in fiscal 2026.
| Lender reserve test | An association's reserves must be 10% of its budget, rising to 15% for applications from January 4, 2027. |
|---|---|
| Late dues test | No more than 15% of units 60 days or more behind. |
| Massachusetts reserve law | Chapter 183A asks for an adequate reserve and never defines adequate. |
| Property tax | $12.40 per $1,000 (fiscal 2026), before the residential exemption. |
Before You Refinance in Boston
Two numbers settle most refinances: what the new loan costs to set up, and how long you'll keep it. These tools run both.
Why a Local Broker
- We shop your refinance across many lenders. A bank can only offer its own.
- We know how lenders read Boston condo associations, BERDO assessments and the Suffolk registry.
- A licensed loan officer picks up, not a call center.
Loan officers John Donlon, owner (NMLS #4931), Jeff Rolke (NMLS #1217216) and Matthew Teeter (NMLS #20485).
"John Donlon and his team at GoldCoast Mortgage are amazing to work with and made the whole process incredibly easy!!"Fred Berg, Google review
- A 15-minute quick chatNo credit pull to start.
- Your numbers, plainlyWhat each option would cost, including doing nothing.
- We shop the lendersYou choose the loan and terms that fit.
Boston Refinance Questions
What if my building turns out to be ineligible?
It's a placement question. The reserve and repair tests are conditions for selling a loan to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, and a lender that keeps loans on its own books writes its own rules. Because we shop the file, one lender's no is information.
Can I look up my building's status myself?
No. Fannie Mae doesn't disclose project decisions to unit owners. A lender can check, and Fannie Mae has updated the status of more than 2,000 projects since 2022 once problems were fixed.
How much can I take out of a triple-decker?
Up to 75 percent of the appraised value if you live in one unit. Rent from the units you don't live in can help you qualify, usually counted at 75 percent of the gross to allow for vacancy.
Start With Your Statement
Bring your current statement and tell us the goal. We'll tell you what your equity and your building support before anyone pays for an appraisal.
Nearby: Refinancing in Lynn · Refinancing in Peabody · Refinancing in Danvers · Refinancing in Gloucester · Refinancing in Newburyport · Refinancing in Dorchester · Every town we serve
GoldCoast Mortgage Service, Inc., 100 Cummings Center, Suite 544H, Beverly, MA 01915. 978-922-4446.
NMLS #1841. Massachusetts Division of Banks Mortgage Broker License #MB1841. GoldCoast is a mortgage broker, not a lender. Loan approval, rates and terms are set by the lender.