Run both side by side and compare the true all-in cost, with mortgage insurance doing most of the deciding. - FHA streamline: fast and light on documentation, but the refinance adds a new upfront mortgage insurance premium. On an FHA-to-FHA streamline you get back part of the upfront premium you already paid, credited against the new one, on a schedule that declines every month and runs out entirely at 36 months. The earlier you streamline, the more that refund is worth. Treat the net new premium like paying points and weigh it the same way. - FHA's monthly MIP usually stays. If you put less than 10% down, the annual mortgage insurance runs for the life of the loan. Paying the balance down does not remove it; refinancing out of FHA does. - Conventional: a well-qualified borrower with strong credit and equity often gets a lower monthly mortgage insurance cost, or none at all, though the rate and payment can come out a touch higher. Conventional PMI also goes away on its own: you can request cancellation when the balance reaches 80% of the home's original value, and it terminates automatically at 78% as long as you are current. Our rule of thumb: if the conventional payment lands close to, or even slightly above, the FHA streamline payment, we lean conventional for the ability to shed mortgage insurance later. But this is a run-the-numbers decision every time, and the call is yours. Send us both loan estimates and we will lay them out for you.