Ask Terry Questions how long to keep records of mortgage refinancing

how long to keep records of mortgage refinancing

By Terry Savage on February 02, 2023 | Housing / Real Estate

We have refinanced our house several times over the years and every time we do we sign all
new papers for the mortgage. How many copies of a mortgage do you actually have to keep?
I really enjoy listening to your advice on WGN TV.

Terry Says

It’s not so much the old mortgage documents you need to keep, BUT you must keep track of all the costs and withdrawals of equity (if any) during your various refinancings. That will help you establish your base cost when you sell the house. If it is owned in joint name, your can exclude $500,000 of capital gains from your taxes. But if you’ve owned it for a long time, the gain could be larger. You can reduce the potential taxable gains by keeping records of all major upgrades you made (new kitchen? bath? roof?) and the cost of those refinancings.

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