Refinancing

Help me not be an idiot and understand what I need to do. Right now, we are paying 5.5% (we bought at the height of the market and our house has seriously depreciated in value ) I think it is time for us to refinance. What can we do? How do we start the process?

Re: Refinancing

I called multiple banks and asked them what their rates were for my desired term. If you have been in your home for ten years I would look for a fifteen or twenty year mortgage and not an arm. I asked:
1. What is your refinance rate today for both a 15 and 20 year terms. Rates change every morning at 10 am.

2. What are your fees to refinance? I paid $499 to refinance. I was quoted as high as $2,500 to refinance.

3. What does your fee cover? The fee I paid covered title insurance, attorney fee, appraisal, bank refi fee.

4. What are the fees to file in my town and county? How many pages is your typical refinance?

5. What is your fee to discharge my current mortgage? This is something to think about if you leave your current mortgage company. They will charge this fee, especially if you leave them.

6. What documents will you need? Typically, you should have two to four of your last pay stubs, money in the bank sufficient to cover six months of escrow, your last two tax returns, a copy of your home owners insurance policy, and a copy of your home taxes.

7. Do you typically sell mortgages once you have refinanced them, or do you keep them on your own books?

8. I would call your current mortgage company, credit unions, and other banks. You could also contact a mortgage broker too.

Re: Refinancing

Contact Justin Schiatta!!! I've done 2 loans with him and he's great! He can explain the process and give you a free quote.

He's a LIF vendor too...

Re: Refinancing

Reach out to your current mortgage/lender and talk to a specialist about refinancing - they will let you know the rate they can offer you plus closing fees..[just so you know, there are ALWAYS closing costs - whether you pay them in the front end or back end (rolled into loan].

The advantage of staying w/ your current lender is you may save on the mortgage transfer tax (they will restructure it as a CEMA loan which means your closing costs are lower the mortgage transfer tax is avoided).

You can also reach out to other banks but keep in mind that a lower interest rate doesn't necessarily mean you are going to save $ because they may charge higher fees, not give credits, or require a higher escrow cushion. If you do call, make sure to ask them all the same questions and make sure they give you a GFE (Good Faith Estimate). This will tell you the big things you need to know:

1. type of loan (30 yr? 20 yr? fixed? ARM?)
2. interest rate and length
3. lender fees/title charges (closing costs)

if i think of other things, i will update this post.