A rate-and-term refinance has no waiting period. If the math worked, you could refinance a week after closing. The waiting periods people have heard about apply to cash-out refinances. On a conventional loan, a cash-out generally requires the mortgage being paid off to be at least 12 months old, plus six months on title. A straight rate-and-term refinance, where you're improving the rate or the term without pulling cash out, can happen immediately after purchase. It really can be that fast. We have refinanced a home before the first mortgage payment was even due, closing the purchase and then the refinance before that first payment hit, and lowered the payment by roughly $400 a month. That shows what the timing allows. Whether a refinance saves you anything depends on your own numbers, and nobody can promise a result like that. So if rates improve after you buy, don't assume you're locked in for a year. The free Roadmap conversation (about 20 minutes) is where we run your real numbers and see whether a rate-and-term refinance actually pencils out.