Worth refinancing if you're close to paying off your mortgage?

[Darwin Do]

I'm considering getting a HELOC on my house ready for cash purchase/ BRRRR opportunities. But I wonder if I should also refinance the loan on that house to take advantage of the low-interest rate due to Covid-19.

Background info:

Original loan amount: $80K, 30yr-loan at 4.5% fixed, loan originated in 2014. I'm 6 years into paying the loan and right now it's halfway paid (~40k left). I'm expecting to pay it off within the next 3 years.

Would it be wise to refinance the loan or it's not worth doing it and keeping it as it is right now?

If I'm to refinance it, in which order should I be doing (refinance -> get Heloc, or get Heloc -> refinance)?

[Michael King]

I wouldn't refi the mortgage unless you are doing a cash out refi. Without looking at an amortization schedule, I'd say it will cost you more than you'd save.

As an example, I just refinanced my primary down from 4.375 to 3.0 on $260K. It cost $2K in fees, but I will save that over 1 year. Save the headache, put that $2K into repayments.