We have a 3% mortgage. How do we move without feeling like we're lighting it on fire?
Start by pricing the life, not the loan. A low rate is real money — but it's only cheap if the house still fits. A small payment on rooms you've outgrown, or a commute you dread, isn't savings. It's a discount on the wrong thing.
The practical moves: run the true monthly delta — new payment minus old — and weigh it against what the move buys back. The shorter commute. The main-floor bedroom. The town you'd rather be in. Ask your lender about paying points now or recasting after your sale; both soften the number. Some people consider keeping the old house as a rental just for the rate. Be honest about whether you actually want to be a landlord — most people who back into it don't.
One reframe that helps: nobody counts staying in the wrong house as a cost. It is one. When you want the actual numbers side by side, that's a short conversation.
I wrote this answer, and I stand behind it. I'm Chris Deutsch, a Minneapolis Realtor (MN #20382264). Twenty-five years of walking these neighborhoods, checking basements, and sitting across kitchen tables from people making exactly this call. I re-check every answer and date it — this one was last verified .
If your situation is more specific than the market, that's the one worth talking through. Email me at chris@lakesarearealty.com.