Rookie mistake - REFI means stay for a year?

[Andres Guerra]

Like everyone these days, I recently did a REFI on my home to take advantage of the low rates. However, I failed to read the fine print where it says you need to stay in your house for at least a year before moving out. I was planning on making my current house a rental property and moving to a house with a better school zone (kid will start Elementary next school year) in the near future. I could wait until the summer of next year, but it wouldn't be a full year on my REFI. 

Am I stuck in this house for a year? Even though I do want to make my house a rental property, could a bank be more lenient if the reason I want to move is truly because of the school zone? (I care more about this than making money out of the deal) I wouldn't mind waiting for the full year if not for the school. 

I've read in other threads that perhaps 6 months is enough but would like to get smarter on this topic. 

Thanks! 

 

[Joseph Firmin]

Honestly @Andres Guerra, the bank wants to ensure you pay your mortgage on time and you are stable. There's always risk of them calling the loan, but they aren't incentivized to do that if you are staying current. I assume this is an FHA loan with that requirement, but even if not, you want to minimize that risk, so if you plan to rent it out, I'd suggest having the reserves to pay the mortgage through the time you won't be occupying it. Zero-risk would be to stay in the house or sell it, but if you feel you can maintain the mortgage and at the very least sell it in the case the bank calls the loan, then you should be good.