RefiNow and Refi Possible in Arizona 2026: The Income Based Refinance Programs Most Homeowners Miss

These two programs have been around for years and almost nobody uses them, which is a shame because they are built for exactly the homeowner who gets turned down everywhere else. High debt to income, thin equity, a credit score in the low 600s, and a rate they got stuck with in a bad stretch of the market. If that describes your file, the standard refinance conversation you have already had with somebody was probably the wrong conversation.

What RefiNow and Refi Possible actually are

They are two versions of the same idea. RefiNow is Fannie Mae's, Refi Possible is Freddie Mac's, and both exist because a lot of lower income homeowners never refinance even when the math clearly says they should. The programs remove the friction that usually stops them: they cap the pricing adjustments, they allow a much higher debt to income ratio than a standard refinance, and they hand you a $500 credit toward the appraisal if an appraisal is required and no waiver comes back.

The important structural point is that these are rate and term refinances, not cash out. You are lowering the rate and the payment on the balance you already owe. You cannot pull equity, and the cash you can roll in at closing is limited to closing costs plus a small amount. If equity access is the goal, this is the wrong door, and our guide to how much equity you need to refinance in Arizona covers the alternatives.

The other thing worth knowing is that the program follows the loan, not the lender. It does not matter who you send your payment to. What matters is whether Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac owns the loan behind the scenes, which is true of a large share of conventional mortgages and is something almost no homeowner knows off the top of their head.

Who qualifies in Arizona

The eligibility list is short and it is strict. Every one of these has to be true.

• Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac owns your current loan. RefiNow requires a Fannie owned loan, Refi Possible requires a Freddie owned loan. FHA, VA and USDA borrowers are not eligible and should look at their own streamline programs instead.
• Your income is at or below 100 percent of the area median income for where the house is. Fannie and Freddie updated the 2026 AMI figures effective June 13, 2026, and most areas moved up, which means some Phoenix and Scottsdale homeowners who were over the line last year are under it now. The cap was originally 80 percent, so if somebody told you a few years ago that you made too much, that answer may be stale.
• It is a one unit primary residence. No rentals, no second homes, no duplexes.
• At least 12 months have passed since your original note date.
• Your payment history is clean. No 30 day late in the past six months, and no more than one in the past twelve.
• The file fits the box: loan to value up to 97 percent, debt to income up to 65 percent, and a minimum 620 credit score.
• The refinance has to actually help you. It must cut your interest rate by at least 50 basis points and drop your monthly payment by at least $50.

That 65 percent DTI allowance is the part I want to highlight, because it is unusually generous. A standard conventional refinance typically stops in the mid to high 40s and tops out around 50 percent through automated underwriting. If you have been told your debt load kills a refinance, this is the program that might not care. The credit score requirements by loan type are worth reading alongside it.

What they save at today's rates

Here is where I have to be straight with you, because most articles about these programs are not. Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the 30 year fixed at 6.71 percent on September 3, 2026, up from 6.66 percent the week before. The 15 year averaged 6.04 percent.

The programs require a 50 basis point rate improvement. So at a 6.71 percent market, your current rate realistically needs to be somewhere around 7.25 percent or higher for this to work at all. That points at a specific group of Arizona homeowners: people who closed between roughly late 2023 and the middle of 2024, when rates ran up toward the high sevens. If you bought in 2020 or 2021 at 3 percent, none of this applies to you and nobody should be telling you otherwise.

For the people it does fit, the numbers are real. Take a $350,000 balance at 7.5 percent. The principal and interest is roughly $2,447 a month. Move that to 6.71 percent and it becomes about $2,261. That is around $187 a month, close to $2,240 a year, and the $500 appraisal credit plus the capped pricing adjustments mean you are keeping more of it than a standard refinance would let you.

Estimate your new payment

How to find out if your loan qualifies

Two questions decide almost everything, and you can answer both in about ten minutes.

First, who owns your loan. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each publish a free loan lookup tool on their websites. Enter your address and the last four of your Social Security number and it tells you yes or no. If neither one claims it, your loan is FHA, VA, USDA, or held in a portfolio somewhere, and a different program applies. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates both companies, keeps a plain overview of its housing programs if you want the official framing.

Second, where your income lands against the AMI. Fannie Mae publishes an Area Median Income Lookup Tool that takes a property address and returns the figure for that census tract. I am deliberately not quoting a dollar number for the Phoenix metro here, because the AMI is set by tract and not by city, and two houses fifteen minutes apart can return different limits. Look up the actual address.

From there it is a normal refinance file. Income documentation, a credit pull, and an appraisal unless the automated system waives it. Our process page walks through what we ask for and when, and if you want a sense of what a refinance costs before the credit built into these programs, we broke that down in our Arizona refinance closing cost guide.

When these are the wrong tool

Four situations where I would tell you to skip it.

You need cash. These are rate and term only. If the point is paying off debt or funding a project, you want a cash out refinance or a home equity line, and the eligibility math is completely different.

Your rate is already under about 7.25 percent. The 50 basis point test simply will not clear at today's pricing. Save the effort and revisit if rates move.

You are moving in the next couple of years. Even with a $500 appraisal credit, a refinance has costs. If you will not be in the house long enough to recover them, the monthly savings never catch up to what you spent to get them.

Your income is above the limit. There is no partial credit here. Over the AMI cap means a standard rate and term refinance instead, which is not a bad outcome, just a different one without the pricing protections. See our loan programs for what that looks like.

One last note on timing that has nothing to do with these programs specifically. Refinance eligibility is worth checking on a schedule rather than a whim, because the inputs move independently. The AMI limits update annually, your income changes, and rates do what they do. A no in June can be a yes in September for reasons that have nothing to do with you. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau keeps a useful neutral owning a home resource if you want to read up before you call anyone, and if you are weighing a refinance against simply selling and moving, current Arizona listings are at Arizona Luxury Property Search.

Frequently asked questions

What is the income limit for RefiNow and Refi Possible?

Your qualifying income must be at or below 100 percent of the area median income for the property location. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac updated the 2026 area median income figures effective June 13, 2026, and most areas increased, so a homeowner who was over the limit last year may be under it now. The cap was 80 percent when the programs launched, so older guidance is often wrong.

Do I need an appraisal for a RefiNow refinance?

Sometimes. The automated underwriting system may issue an appraisal waiver, in which case you do not need one. If an appraisal is required, Fannie Mae provides a $500 credit toward the cost, which is one of the main advantages of the program over a standard rate and term refinance.

Can I get cash out with RefiNow or Refi Possible?

No. Both are rate and term refinance programs only. You can roll in closing costs and a small amount beyond that, but you cannot pull equity out of the home. Homeowners who want to access equity need a cash out refinance or a home equity line of credit, which have different eligibility requirements and pricing.

What credit score do I need for RefiNow?

The minimum representative credit score is 620. The program also allows a debt to income ratio up to 65 percent and a loan to value ratio up to 97 percent, which is considerably more flexible than a standard conventional refinance that generally stops near 50 percent debt to income.

Is RefiNow worth it in 2026 with rates near 6.71 percent?

It depends entirely on your current rate. The program requires the refinance to lower your interest rate by at least 50 basis points and your payment by at least $50 a month. With the 30 year fixed averaging 6.71 percent in early September 2026, your existing rate generally needs to be around 7.25 percent or higher, which points to Arizona homeowners who closed between late 2023 and the middle of 2024.

Does it matter who I make my mortgage payment to?

No. Eligibility depends on whether Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac owns or securitized your loan, not on which company services it and collects your payment. Both agencies publish free loan lookup tools that confirm ownership in a couple of minutes using your address and the last four digits of your Social Security number.