thoughts on refiancing from 30 year to 15 year loan

[Danny Stern]

Hi All curious to your thoughts on this. I purchased a home last year in summer of 18. my interest rate on the 30 year loan is 4.75 and if jump down to a 15 year loan right now it would be 3.125. My payment would go up about $330 switching to the 15 year loan. my biggest concern is that I believe the house I'm in, is not going to be a forever home. If the market drops substantially or tanks in say 5 years, I will be trapped in my house. I purchased for 221k and currently owe 208k, over the course of 5 years at my current rate I will owe around 190k in principal. if I refinance to the 15 year loan over that same 5 year period I would owe 148k principal. if I just added $350 to my current payment and didn't refinance (just paid extra) I would owe about 162k. Im nervous that when im looking to expand into a larger house that I'm going to be financially trapped in my house if its only worth 180-190k during a housing crisis.