Community Chat

[RedTop]

@skatting44 

My husband and I built our house in 1981, and were affected by those high interest rates!  

By the time the house was finished and we signed the final papers, we were at 17% with a 15 year balloon mortgage!   

We hated making house payments, so we worked super hard and got our house paid off in 11 years total.   

[skatting44]

Thanks  for sharing , those early 80's were full of hurt with high interest rates on everything  along with gasoline lines  . We  bought  our home in 1980  . As you did we both worked to get our heads above water and it took  2 jobs . Then we  refinanced when the financial climate changed for the better.  We sold before paying the house off to move in to a larger home with less acreage to maintain.

Wow, that was  a mountain of an accomplishment  of yours in paying off your mortgage in 11 yrs.  

[AuntG]

Just once when I was single and interests rates had dropped enough to make it worthwhile. Interest rates were good when DH and I bought our current house, but like @RedTop we put anything extra on our mortgage to pay it off in eleven years.

[chickenbutt]

We recently, in the last few months, refinanced.  We had 12 years left on the prior, 20yr, loan and refinanced on a 10yr loan.    It would make the house pmt about the same and be pd off 2 years sooner, so I was pleased even though the rate was only 1% less.   But what we owe is only about 1/5 of the current value.

He wanted to re-fin again and I wasn't totally on board and said that I would NOT sign anything to make the loan go longer, so we saved on time and money.   

What was also nice was that it only took a couple of weeks.  It would have taken less time but he took more time to get some of his docs together.  Mine were easier, plus I have more time on my hands.

I remember the old days when it took a couple months to get a mortgage done.  

It was also nice to get credit reports because I never do that.  Mine came out at 838 and they said that was pretty good, but it would be better if I didn't pay my credit cards off every month.   I  found that odd, as it seems like that would give a better number, not a worse one.   I can see it from the POV of the creditor, as they need to make $$ too.  But not for a credit sheet that reflects general positives and negatives.

[Roscoe the Rascal]

Our home is paid off now but at one time we considered it but it wouldn't have made much difference  in our monthly payment.  Not worth it for us with all the expense involved.  

Our rate wasn't bad but sure cheap now.

[Teddixat]

@JamandBread    Thank you very much for the info and insight.   I have a calif. tax Free income fund that pays 3% which is where I would put the funds   However I had not even thought about a home equity loan.  I will speak to my credit union.  I don't deal with a banks

[RealtyGal2]

---

@Teddixat wrote:

Has anyone refinanced their home to get a lower rate or to lower monthly mortgage payment or for cash out?  

Wondering if and when it's a good idea?

---

I refinanced in august, took cash out, and rolled in a 2nd mortgage. It reduced my monthly payment $375.00 and the rates were not even as low as they are now. 

[RealtyGal2]

---

@ECBG wrote:

Watch the interest rates and step in when they're 1 diget at this time.

Be prepared for paying closing costs, title search, they will access your home and all of that.

---

What does "they will access your home and all of that" mean? Are you talking about doing an appraisal? That sentence makes no sense. Also, all my fees were rolled into the loan so I paid no money out of pocket for my refinance. 

[kivah]

The best part is reducing the years of the mortgage. From 30 to 15 makes sense.

Get a referral for an agent from a mortgage company, who could check out many lenders. Never pay "points" -- that's an extra percentage added to the fees. That's where they get u if ur not aware. Have the agent print out the rates and payment amounts - and number of years to see if it makes sense to refinance. The rates are very low.

[CAcableGirl2]

@Teddixat   Also, if you have 20%+ in equity in your house, make sure you are no longer paying PMI (private mortgage insurance).  That can save some money every month (which adds up).

You can request PMI cancellation once your loan-to-value ratio—the amount of your loan balance divided by the home’s market value—falls below 80% of the home’s original appraised value (or sooner, if your home’s value appreciates before then). Lenders list this scheduled date on the PMI disclosure form, which you likely received as part of your closing documents.

To cancel PMI, you’ll need to:

• Make your request in writing.
• Be current on your monthly mortgage payments.
• Have a positive payment history (no more than one payment that was 30 days late in a 12-month period or no more than one payment that was 60 days late in a 24-month period, according to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac).
• Verify you have no junior liens (such as a second mortgage).