When the first payment is due
Most mortgages are due on the first of the month. After a refinance, the first payment on your new loan usually falls on the first day of the second month after closing.
Example: you close on May 15. At closing you prepay interest from May 15 through May 31. Your first new payment is due July 1. Your exact date is in your closing documents.
Why it feels like you skip a payment
Mortgage interest is paid in arrears. That means the payment you make on July 1 covers interest for June, not July.
Because you already paid May's interest at closing, there is nothing due on June 1. You haven't skipped anything. The interest was simply paid up front instead of with a monthly payment. How much prepaid interest you owe depends on how many days are left in the month after you close.
What happens to your old loan
Your old mortgage is paid off with the new loan as part of closing. The payoff amount includes interest up to the day the payoff arrives, so it can be a bit more than the balance on your last statement.
Keep making your regular payment on the old loan if it comes due before the payoff is confirmed. If you overpay, the old servicer generally refunds the extra after the loan is closed out.
Your escrow account
If your old loan had an escrow account for taxes and insurance, that balance doesn't move to the new loan. Your old servicer typically mails you a refund after payoff, often within about 30 days.
Your new loan usually has its own escrow account, funded with deposits at closing. That's why you may pay into a new escrow account before you get the old balance back.
Who you pay now
Your closing documents show when and where your first payment is due and which company services your loan. If servicing later moves to another company, you'll get a written notice with the new servicer's details and where to send payments.
A short checklist
- Keep paying your old loan until the payoff is confirmed.
- Find the first due date and payment address in your closing documents.
- Watch for a welcome letter from your servicer.
- Set up autopay with the new servicer, and cancel autopay on the old loan once it's paid off.
- Watch for your escrow refund from the old servicer.
- Check your next statement to confirm the old loan shows as paid in full.
Watch for payment scams
Be careful with any message that tells you to send your payment somewhere new. Confirm changes using contact details from your closing documents or a statement you already have, not a phone number or link in the message.