topic Re: Refinancing Your Mortgage in Home

Refinancing Your Mortgage

Kachina624 — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 17:25:24 GMT

On or about last August first, on the day the Prime Intetest Rate was lowered, I picked up the phone, called my mortgage company and started the process of refinancing my VA loan. It has been a long, tedious process due to the idiot loan officer with whom I had to contend but I finally closed on it yesterday. I reduced my monthly payment by about half so it was well worth the effort. It didn't cost me a cent but I did spend 1 1/2 hours signing papers.

If you have a mortgage and haven't refinanced lately, you might want to investigate to see if this would be feasible for you.

Re: Refinancing Your Mortgage

Havarti — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 19:05:19 GMT

How big was your rate variance that you saved 50%? That is great! Congratulations!!! Time well spent.

Re: Refinancing Your Mortgage

Krimpette — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 19:12:40 GMT

Woud you believe.....in 1984, when I bought my townhouse, the interest rate was 12%. Not a typo,,,twelve percent!!!!! Eventually, I refinanced down to 8%!!! It's been paid off for many years now, however. (Whew!)

Re: Refinancing Your Mortgage

Kachina624 — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 19:23:48 GMT

@Krimpette. The first home I bought, also a townhouse, in the early 1980s also had a 12% rate. That was the going rate for convential mortgages back then. I sold that one in 1992.

Re: Refinancing Your Mortgage

Kachina624 — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 19:32:13 GMT

@Havarti wrote:
How big was your rate variance that you saved 50%? That is great! Congratulations!!! Time well spent.

@Havarti. I went from 6.5 to 3.5%. Now they're advertising 15 year mortgages for less than 3%.

Re: Refinancing Your Mortgage

drizzellla — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 19:39:05 GMT

When we bought our house in May 1980 we were thrilled to pay 16.5% interest. Most banks were hanging up on us when we inquired about a mortgage.

My husband and I were both employed for over 10 years at our respective companies. And were putting more than 20% cash down. And still no one wanted to give us a mortgage. Finally our Real Estate Agent pulled some strings and favors and she got the bank next door to her office to give us a mortgage at 16.5% interest and I forget how many points.

Hope everyone takes advantage of the low mortgage interest rate.

Re: Refinancing Your Mortgage

skatting44 — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 20:49:40 GMT

@Krimpette wrote:
Woud you believe.....in 1984, when I bought my townhouse, the interest rate was 12%. Not a typo,,,twelve percent!!!!! Eventually, I refinanced down to 8%!!! It's been paid off for many years now, however. (Whew!)

Yes, I remember those interest rate's. My 1st home purchase was 1981. Car rates were high - very high inflation ! Yea, refinanced as soon as the rates were lowered.

Re: Refinancing Your Mortgage

queendiva — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 21:08:13 GMT

@Kachina624 : Right there with you.

I began my refi process on or about August 5 and just closed on Friday. I was just 13 months into my previous 15 yr. fixed mortgage, but my rate dropped on the same 15 yr fixed from 4 1/8 to 3 3/8. Even with that small difference I am saving over $500.00/ month and closing costs were rolled into the new mortgage. A bonus is that I will make one additional payment yearly toward principal starting next year, so the length of the mortgage will be about the same.

I have refinanced mortgages more times than I can count! I hope not to do it again, but I will if it makes sense for my bottom line.

Re: Refinancing Your Mortgage

Snowpuppy — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 21:17:07 GMT

With the spread between the 15yr and 30yr becoming more unpredictable, watch your re-fi rates carefully.

When the bond market was suffering a month or two ago, my credit union was actually offering a 30yr at a better rate than a 15 yr. Pssssttt... you can pay off your 30 yr in 15 by yourself. 😉

Re: Refinancing Your Mortgage

Havarti — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 22:16:20 GMT

Do they have to come & go through your house now-a-days or can they still just do a drive-by? I think I looked into this a few years ago and Wells Fargo wanted to come into the house and look around. I don't like strangers in my house so I said no thanks.

Re: Refinancing Your Mortgage

queendiva — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 22:38:47 GMT

My home was previously appraised just last year and they still had to go through it again and take pics, etc.

Re: Refinancing Your Mortgage

Kachina624 — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 02:23:27 GMT

@Havarti. If you apply for the type of ReFi where you also borrow money against the equity in your home, you must have a home inspection and it's not a drive-by, it's a serious inspection. My sister just did that type and ended up paying a bit more per month even though her interest rate went down

My ReFi didn't involve getting any cash, although I don't owe a mortgage payment for 2 months. I didn't have to have an inspection. My goal was to lower the monthly payment. I didn't want more debt.

Re: Refinancing Your Mortgage

Havarti — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 02:27:17 GMT

@queendiva

I guess I am old fashioned, but it stikes me as creepy having a stranger in my home taking pictures. What purpose do the pictures serve? Seem like a total breech of privacy...but so many people don't care about privacy these days. I still do.

Re: Refinancing Your Mortgage

kivah — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 04:09:39 GMT

When u lower the interest rate on ur mortgage - it's also a good idea to reduce the years!!!! Don't go with the 30 yr loan (horrible) - u can get a 20 yr, 10 yr - or anything in between. Goal is to get rid of that mortgage. Also, be sure u go to an honest mortgage broker. Always check the points and fees - that's where they get u.

Re: Refinancing Your Mortgage

skatting44 — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 04:19:24 GMT

@Snowpuppy wrote:
With the spread between the 15yr and 30yr becoming more unpredictable, watch your re-fi rates carefully.

When the bond market was suffering a month or two ago, my credit union was actually offering a 30yr at a better rate than a 15 yr. Pssssttt... you can pay off your 30 yr in 15 by yourself. 😉

Yes, just make sure you indicate in your payment that the additional money being sent goes toward the priniciple only .

Re: Refinancing Your Mortgage

Katcat1 — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 06:01:43 GMT

@Kachina624 It sounds like you made a wise choice. Years ago when I owned a condo, I refinanced and it saved me money too.

Re: Refinancing Your Mortgage

ID2 — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 11:31:16 GMT

We've refinanced our many homes throughout the years. Saved so much money. We now live mortgage free.

Re: Refinancing Your Mortgage

nyc1 — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 11:38:28 GMT

@Kachina624 Always great advise to know what rate you're paying and what the going rate is ... but also looking at fees, points, and any costs associated with the refinance. There are AMMORTIZATION TABLES available that give you the new rate based on the number of years and rate %. We refinanced 2x when we had our mortgage. Another good thing to do, if you have the means, is to pay more to principle whenever possible... no matter how little. You can pay off your mortgage a lot sooner. Thankfully, with both of us working, we were able to pay off ours in just under 12 years.

Someone mentioned rates in the 1980s... in 1984 when I went to purchase my first home, a townhouse in NJ, the rate was 18%, so I had to go with a variable rate. Today that would be crazy.... LOCK IN YOUR RATE!

Good luck all. Do your research.

Re: Refinancing Your Mortgage

queendiva — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 12:05:30 GMT

@Havarti : the appraiser was no different than someone coming in to repair something in my home. In and out in no time. Had to take a photo or 2 of each room, which appeared in his written report, on which I was copied. If a bank is financing my home they have to know exactly what the value is and that requires a full but not invasive inspection. No cupboards or closets were opened and I had time in advance to prepare for the visit.

I am a privacy freak, but I have no problem with someone who is expected entering my home. The most invasive thing I found was selling my homes; the necessity of strangers going through every inch of my personal space, but that's what is necessary. Thank goodness my houses have sold quickly; the last one in 2 days.

Re: Refinancing Your Mortgage

Mominohio — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 14:37:02 GMT

@Havarti wrote:
@queendiva

I guess I am old fashioned, but it stikes me as creepy having a stranger in my home taking pictures. What purpose do the pictures serve? Seem like a total breech of privacy...but so many people don't care about privacy these days. I still do.

You are asking a lender for tens of (or even hundreds of) thousands of dollars, and you think they shouldn't be inspecting and documenting the collateral very carefully?

I wouldn't want to do business with a lender that didn't take better care to be sure about the condition of homes they were loaning big money on, only to cost me as a customer later, when those homes fall into foreclosure and are found to be in a condition making them worth much less than what is owed on them.

I think people don't understand that when you carry a mortgage on your home (or any other thing for that matter), you don't own it, the bank (lender) does. They have every right to see, know, document and judge the condition of the property.