home lenders refinance mortgage

October 4, 2008

Effective Home Loan Refinance – Things That You Should Know

Alan Lim asked:


No matter what you do, there will always be time when you wish you can have more funds to pay your mortgage that is almost going on default or lower down your interest rates. Fortunately, you have the answer for that. The most effective solution is to settle for a home loan refinance.

However, it is not going to be easy as you probably think. There are several things that you need to keep in mind, such as closing costs, your new interest rates, and the length of the refinance loan, to name a few. To ensure that you do not go wrong with your home refinancing, consider the following tips:

1. Know if you need the home loan refinance. It is important that you know the importance of home refinancing to your personal finances. Hence, before you even consider applying for a home loan refinance, know first if it is really what you need. You have to assess if you have plans of staying at your home for a certain period of time. To help you out, you can do this basic calculation. You divide the refinancing cost by 12. This way, you will know how many more years you need to live at your home before you can say that you have made a wise investment. If the result does not appeal to you, as you may be moving to another location by then, then a home refinancing is not something for you.

2. Talk to your present lender first before looking for another provider. If you are thinking of refinancing your home loan, you need to talk to your present mortgage lender first. This will definitely cut the time of processing your application, as you already have your records, and you can even save something from your closing costs. Nevertheless, do not be afraid to ask your provider to lay everything on the table. If after calculations you realize that the new loan appears to be almost as high as your previous one, you may have to look for another lending company for your mortgage refinance.

3. Determine the total costs of your refinance. It is not enough that you know how much you are going to pay monthly. You also have to take into consideration the costs associated with your new loan, such as the closing, transaction, and appraisal costs. This is to help you evaluate if you are getting the best deal when it comes to interest rate and monthly payment for your new loan.

4. Try to shorten the payment term of your new mortgage. If you are going for home loan refinance, ensure that you can at least limit the new term to what is left of your old mortgage. This way, you will not have to actually extend the number of months that you will be paying for your loan.

In the end, it is always good if you can learn to shop around. It is only when you do some research in the market that you will understand your different options.



CLAUDE

September 4, 2008

Home Loan Refinance : a Primer

Alan Lim asked:


Why refinance?

Most homeowners choose a home loan refinance when they are in need of significant amounts of extra cash for a variety of reasons. For example, you may have a youngster who is nearing college age and you want to provide cash to reduce the amount of college loans that will be due upon graduation. You may need cash for pressing medical bills, or you may choose a home loan when you want to do major renovation to your home. Another common reason for refinancing and pulling equity from your home is to consolidate credit card debt and thus lower interest rates.

When is the best time to refinance?

Choosing a home loan refinance can make good sense at several times in your financial life. For example, you may have acquired your existing mortgage at a time when interest rates were high, due to the nation’s economy, or you may have had a higher interest rate because of personal credit issues. Refinancing should not be done frivolously, but when you are in genuine need of the cash, or when the savings in interest fees will more than offset the cost of the refinance. Because the refinance option taken too frequently can be a sign of a homeowner in financial trouble, you should avoid the refinance option except for times when it makes good financial sense to do so.

What is the bottom line?

The bottom line will result in a savings over all to you, or an increase to you. At times, the homeowner will do a home loan refinance and save thousands of dollars in interest fees since the interest rate has dropped. Another time when the interest fees will be lower over the term of the loan is if you are repaying a larger payment in order to reduce the term of the loan. If you are spreading the mortgage out over a longer period of time in order to reduce the payment amounts, you may end up with significantly more interest costs, plus the costs of the loan itself.

What can you use the money for?

A home loan refinance with cash out can be used for almost any purpose you wish. Depending on the way you structure your loan, you may have lump sum cash available; you may decide to have a line of credit tied to your home equity value, or you may use the funds to pay off existing debts and bills in order to free up disposable income each pay period in the future. The choice will depend upon the individual needs in your situation and how your tax picture is structured.

Things to watch out for

Be cautious in structuring a home loan refinance. You will want to verify that you are obtaining your loan through a legitimate broker or direct lender. Make sure that you don’t end up with a different type of loan than you thought you were getting. For example, if you want a fixed rate loan, take care that you aren’t sold a variable rate loan or one where you have a negative equity building.



ALLAN
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