I am refinancing the house and the appraisal is not going favorably. I am going to have to dip into my IRA for the closing costs. I know you can take out up to $10k for a first home without penalty. The person I talked to at my investment firm said that he thought there were some cases where someone could get a distribution without a penalty. He said he believed that a penalty free distribution could be made if refinancing a first house after living there for less than 3 years. He said I should check with a tax adviser though. Does anyone know if this is somewhat true? Thanks!