Posts Tagged ‘Refinance Loan’

Refinance Home Loan Associated Costs and Fees That Will Shock You

Monday, January 11th, 2010

Refinance home loan: Costs discovered

Many individuals who refinance home loan can be surprised that as they go through the process, they discovered the many different costs associated with it. One reason why is because they tend to forget that to refinance home loan is like reliving your first loan application.

Refinance Home Loan Costs

You might not be aware of this fact, but when you are dealing with home loan refinancing costs, you are obliged to pay at least three percent of the remaining balance of the principal.

This figure might sound like it’s a lot, however, it actually is even less that what you paid for when you first acquired your home loan – it’s just like experiencing the loan application again. (more…)

Refinance Home Loan – Benefits You Do Not Know

Monday, January 11th, 2010

When the borrower on a home mortgage has come to a position where the terms of the original loan are unacceptable, or more expensive than they need be, given the current economic condition, the borrower sometimes chooses to refinance home loan. In this situation, the original loan is paid off and the loan is replaced with a new loan the terms of which can be similar or can be quite different. In many ways, a refinance loan is like a brand new loan obtained from scratch since the loan equity, appraised value and capacity to repay must be approved by the lender.

Smaller payments

When you decided to refinance home loan, you may be able to structure the loan in such a way as to receive payments that are smaller. This can be very beneficial if your goal is to tighten your belt due to a reduction in income. Sometimes those who are entering retirement years will desire to stay in the same home, but will be living on reduced income, so prefer to reduce expenses to match. Smaller payments on a refinance may be due to a better interest rate that can be gained. If interest rates have dropped enough to offset the refinance loan fees added to a new loan, you may be smart to refinance.

Longer repayment time

One of the benefits that can be arranged when you refinance home loan is taking longer to repay the debt. This is desirable if you want to obtain a larger loan in order to pull out some cash at the time of closing. It may be for the purpose of lowering your monthly payment. Spreading out the same size loan over more years means that the interest paid will be greater, but the payment made will be more manageable in size for the homeowner. (more…)

What You Need to Know to Refinance a Home Mortgage Loan

Sunday, January 10th, 2010

For many people there comes a time when it makes sense to refinance their home mortgage. There can be any number of reasons to do this but for most people the primary goal is to lower their interest rate and their monthly payment. Everybody’s situation is different so the reasons for doing a refinance can vary from person to person.

When you do a home mortgage loan refinance you are basically taking out a new loan and using it to pay off an existing loan. You of course do not want to refinance if your new loan will cost your more in interest and monthly payments so it pays to research any new loan carefully.

As you delve further into the realm of refinancing a home you will undoubtedly run into terms that you may not be familiar with. These may include the following:

Term Length – This is the amount of time you have to pay back the loan. The majority of loans go for either 15 or 30 years. The longer the term the more interest you will pay during that term.

Fixed Rate Mortgage Loan – This is a mortgage in which the rate is set at closing and does not change for the life of the loan.

Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) – This is a mortgage with an adjustable rate. That means the rate can move up or down depending on what the prime rate or treasury index it is tied to is doing. This type of loan usually starts out at a low rate that makes it a great deal, but consumers need to be careful if and when the interest rate goes up, increasing the monthly payment.

Annual Percentage Rate (APR) – This number represents all the costs associated with a mortgage shown as an interest rate. It can vary among different lenders because they all calculate it a little differently. If you are comparing rate use the Good Faith Estimate that all lenders are required to provide.

Good Faith Estimate (GFE) – This is a document that all mortgage lenders are required by law to provide to all applicants. It will give a full account of all the estimated costs for a loan from a particular lender. You should have this in hand no longer then 3 days after filling out a loan application.

Loan to Value Ratio (LTV) – This ratio is a percentage that shows what percent you are borrowing against the appraised value of your home. Keeping this ratio below 80% is what most lenders are looking for. If your LTV is higher then 80% you will probably be required to purchase mortgage insurance in order to refinance.

Points (Discount & Origination) – There are two types of points that you can pay. Discount points are paid up front at the closing and are used to bring down the interest rate. Normally one point will equal one percent of what your total loan amount is. Origination points, or fees, are paid for the services rendered by the loan representative.

Refinancing a home mortgage loan can be a good way of freeing up money for other uses but it pays to pay close attention through out the process because you don’t want some hidden cost or fee to make your new loan cost more than the original mortgage.




By: Andrew Bicknell