Im going through it right now....i went with Citizens Bank (local indiana bank). Got a rate of 3.75 and their appraisal is only $350. It ends up saving me about $200 a month so no complaints.
Pay off the house if you can. Forget about a refi.
Check local as well. I Refinanced last fall with a local credit union for 3.25%.
I'm certain somebody could beat my rate by a couple tenths of a percent, but my money stays local and when I have issues with my mortgage I can talk to a person face-to-face.
We are applying the money we saved on the refi to the principle to pay it down faster.A refi can significantly reduce the amount of interest you're paying over the life of the loan. Not everyone can just "pay off" a 20 or 30 year loan.
Quicken was not only wanting 1% more, they badgered us relentlessly (even after telling them we was refinancing elsewhere), to the point that I told them if I received another call from them I was going to call the Indiana Attorney General's office.We looked at Quicken but they couldn't match the rates we got elsewhere.
We are applying the money we saved on the refi to the principle to pay it down faster.