Could a Refinance Help you?
It’s Not too Late to Refinance
With mortgage rates below 4% since May 2019, you would think that most people would have already refinanced but according to a recent Lending Tree survey, 49% of homeowners say they are considering a mortgage refinance in the next year. The report estimated that over a third of homeowners have mortgages above 4% and 11% didn’t know what their rate was.
Slightly more than a third of the people surveyed regretted missing the opportunity to refinance in 2020 when rates did hit their historical low. Homeowners should not beat themselves up on this issue because the only way to tell that it hit bottom is after it has started going up again.
The current rates are very favorable to borrowers and some economists believe that when inflation is factored in, the rates are close to zero effectively.
While there are nine specific reasons people choose to refinance their homes, two are among the most prevalent: to lower the payment or take cash out of the equity. Most reasons include:
- Lower the payment
- Lower the rate to pay less interest
- Shorten the term to pay off the loan sooner
- Take cash out of equity to pay off higher cost debt
- Take cash out of equity to improve their liquidity
- To remove a person from the loan as in a divorce
- To combine a first and second mortgage
- To replace an adjustable-rate mortgage
- To consolidate debt
There are some commonly held myths about refinancing among homeowners such as:
- You can only refinance your home once.
- You must refinance through your current lender.
- There should be two-percent difference in the rate to justify it
- You need 20% equity to refinance
- Applications require a lot of documents
- You need cash to cover closing costs
- You won’t save that much by refinancing
- It’s free to refinance
If your current mortgage is a FHA, there is limited borrower credit documentation and underwriting program. The mortgage must be current and not delinquent, and the refinance must result in a net tangible benefit to the borrower such as a lower rate, lower payment or better terms. For more information, see Streamline or contact an FHA approved lender.
VA has a similar program if your existing mortgage is a VA-backed home loan. The purpose is for a borrower to reduce their payments or make their payment more stable. They must certify they are currently living in or did live in the home covered by the loan. The Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan, IRRRL, may be available.
USDA also has a program for current USDA direct and guaranteed rural homebuyers who have been current on their payments for 12 months prior to requesting the loan refinance. No appraisal or credit review is required. There must be a minimum of 40% net reduction to the PITI payment. More information is available.
Before refinancing your home, determine how long you plan to keep the home. If the reason for refinancing is to save interest by getting a lower rate, you may accomplish that immediately. However, if you plan on selling soon, you may not be able to recapture the cost of refinancing.
There are costs associated with refinancing regardless of whether you pay for them in cash, or they are rolled into the cost of the mortgage. These costs can range from two to five percent of the mortgage.
If you would like any professional residential Real Estate advice, contact us at Paramount Real Estate Services. 1008 12th St. SE Salem, OR 97302 503-851-1645
Also, to mobilize us right away to help you move, visit us here:
Reasons to Refinance
Three Reasons to Refinance
Three reasons to refinance a home include lowering the cost of housing, shortening the term of the mortgage to pay it off sooner or to using the equity to accomplish another purpose.
Replacing the mortgage at a lower interest rate, which is entirely possible in today’s market, would reduce the payment. On the other hand, shortening the term of the mortgage could make the payments increase but would allow the home to be paid for sooner. In either case, the equity would not be reduced unless the refinancing costs were rolled into the new mortgage.
Refinancing the home to take money out would increase the mortgage on the property and lower an owner’s equity; careful consideration should be made before doing so.
Mortgage rates are considerably lower than credit card rates and usually lower than short term borrowing like student loans or car loans. For that reason, homeowners will sometimes refinance to payoff higher cost debt.
Some people refinance for more than their current balance to improve their cash position, possibly, to have funds available in case they need it. Other reasons could be to use it for an investment such as rental property or other things. Still others may use it to make capital improvements on their home like remodeling or a pool.
Another legitimate reason to refinance may be to combine a first and second lien on the home that might result in lower payments and a savings in interest.
One more situation that causes a person to refinance a home is to remove a former spouse or co-borrower from the existing mortgage. In the case of a divorce, a couple may no longer be married and one of the former spouses may have no financial interest in the home any longer but because they signed the note originally, they are still liable along with the other spouse. This could be an untenable position.
There can be a lot of reasons that cause a homeowner to refinance the home. The equity is a valuable asset that has powerful borrowing power combined with the good credit and income of the homeowner. A Refinance Analysis can help you to determine the new payments and how long it will recapture the cost of refinancing.
For the recommendation of a trust lender, give me a call at 503-851-1645.
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Is it Time to Refinance?
One More Reason to Refinance
Taking cash out of the equity of your home could be a legitimate way to fund a temporary cash crisis now or to have it on-hand if the need arises. Most homeowners can pull out the difference in 80% of the fair market value of their home and what they currently owe.
The most frequently cited reasons for refinancing are to lower the payment, eliminate the private mortgage insurance, combine mortgages, consolidate debt, convert an ARM to a fixed rate mortgage, remove a person from the loan or to take cash out for another reason.
The option of using your equity to deal with unexpected living expenses or potential lost wages in the future could be a good reason for doing a cash-out refinance. It is important to consider that it could increase your monthly payment instead of lowering it which would result in higher expenses during uncertain economic times.
Some lenders have recently raised the minimum credit score requirement but borrowers with good credit and the ability to repay should be able to refinance. Lenders are reporting that during the Covid-19 crisis their processing time is taking longer but they have implemented procedures to safely facilitate the application as well as the appraisals.
While homeowners with an FHA loan are available for a streamline process because FHA is already insuring the mortgage to be refinanced, the cash-out is limited to $500. Even though the owner may not be able to pull funds out of their FHA equity, refinancing may lower their payment and therefore, lower their expenses.
Unlike conventional loans that require income through a job or other sources, refinancing an existing FHA loan does not require income verification or an appraisal. The borrower cannot be delinquent on their current FHA loan and it must be at least six months old. The refinance must reduce the current interest rate or term or both.
Another alternative for homeowners is a HELOC, home equity line of credit, where you do not incur interest expense unless you actually draw on the line of credit. It will be a variable rate home equity loan similar to a credit card letting you borrow up to a specific limit when you want and repay it slowly over time.
Refinancing a home incurs closing costs which can be paid in cash or added to the financed amount. The breakeven point to recapture the cost of refinancing is determined by dividing the monthly savings into the cost of refinancing. If you stay in the home less than that time, refinancing could be an unnecessary expense.
If you would like any professional residential Real Estate advice, contact us at Paramount Real Estate Services. 1008 12th St. SE Salem, OR 97302 503-851-1645
Also, to mobilize us right away to help you move, visit us here: