One of the things that is continually asked these days is “Should I refinance my home mortgage?”

Things are moving so quickly with the economy, that it is no wonder that you may be confused and not sure whether or not to get a mortgage refinance.

The recent downgrading of the US credit from AAA to AA+ was a big hit to the nation and many people are trying to work out whether or not that is going to have an effect on home mortgage interest rates.

Keep in mind, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are part of the Government so the downgrade affects the two largest mortgage holders in the nation.

Additionally, the FED has announced that rates are going to stay low for the next 2 years. When the FED says low, that means close to zero.

I’m going to talk about things to think about before refinancing, but before I do, I want to say that it may be a good idea to refinance if you have great credit, and the interest rate you lock in can drop your monthly payments by hundreds of dollars.

Three Factors to Consider Before Refinancing

Recently, the Fed announced that they are maintaining the low interest rates until the year 2013. This is good news for those with good credit standing and for those with some home equity left because these individuals and families still have a chance to refinance their mortgage with the lowest rates. However, even if low rates are available at the moment, this does not mean that it is always a good idea to refinance. Here are the reasons why:

First, since low rates will continue for a little while, refinancing should not be rushed. Individuals and families can still make use of the time to build a strong credit so that when the decision is made to finally refinance, the lowest rates are obtained.

Second, it is best to consider the fees that come with refinancing. With this, it is best to keep the loan long enough to be able to justify the charges. Find out about the fees that you might potentially pay; those that you will surely pay; and those that you may or may not pay. Familiarity with these charges is important before refinancing in order to generate extra savings.

Third, note that points gathered from payments can be deducted in one’s taxes for the entire duration of the loan. With this, the cost of the loan will greatly decrease because of tax savings. For example, if an individual obtains a mortgage of $300,000 and pays 2 point or 2%, he or she has to make an upfront payment of about $6,000. If the person belongs to the 25% tax bracket, the savings will be 25% of $6,000 or $1,500 for the entire duration of the loan. When computing for the real after tax cost, the 2 points will generate a tax savings of $4,500. This is obtained from deducting $1,500 to $6,000.

Despite the low rates these days, it is best to think things through before refinancing. Consider and compute the costs and check if there are savings that can be obtained from it. Otherwise, postpone refinancing if after a thorough computation, it ends up as a bad deal even when the rates obtained are lower.

Whether or not to refinance is really a personal choice. I have friends that have refinanced 5 times in the last year. And, everytime they have refinanced, they have saved hundreds of dollars. Their current interest rate will be 4%. Now, their mortgage is close to 1 million. They live in a home in Hawaii.

The point is, you need to make sure that you do the numbers, do the research and make sure that you are comfortable with the numbers.

Home Loan Refinancing Options for Individuals with Bad Credit

Over the past few years, many Americans have refinanced their home loans to take advantage of the low interest rates. But, the low rates are not offered to all homeowners. Currently, the 30 year fixed interest rate is around 4.35%. This is only available to borrowers with good credit. Those with poor credit standing are usually given higher rates than the average.

People with bad credit who are seeking a refinance loan from Bank of America or Countywide must know that they need a credit score of at least 740 to qualify for the 30 year fixed interest rate of 4.5% or below. Moreover, their debt to income ratio must fall below 40% in order to be qualified for this refinance rate.

Sadly, the reality is, these are very difficult requirements to meet for people with poor credit. However, if they are determined to take advantage of good rates, they must try to boost their score by paying down their debts especially the ones incurring high interests. These include credit cards, payday loans and personal loans.

Moreover, even if Bank of America is considered as one of the country’s major financial institution, the low rates are not only exclusive to them. It is a common misconception of Americans with bad credit that not many lenders would want to work with them. In fact, there are plenty of institutions that are looking for customers and would welcome anyone regardless of his or her credit standing.

The website of FDIC provides a list of the mortgage lenders who can help in refinancing a home loan no matter what the status of the borrower’s credit is. There are about 7000 financial institutions all over the country with FDIC insurance that can provide assistance in home loan refinancing with the lowest mortgage rates of interest.

Related articles

• Homeowners Shortening Mortgage Terms At Record Rates (inquisitr.com)
• Mortgage Refinancing Activity Continues to Rise (johnmurphyreports.com)

Why is it Time to Refinance? Is it the best time to get a Mortgage Refinance?

Interest rates on mortgages have continuously declined to reach its lowest level in recorded history. This is a strong proof that it is already the best time for homeowners to consider refinancing in order to generate some savings.

The rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was at an average of 4.39% during the end of the Aug 4 week. Similarly, the rate for a 15 year fixed mortgage decreased to 3.54% despite the reduction in bond yields and signs that show a weaker economic standing than what is expected said the Primary Mortgage Market Survey of Freddie Mac.

The president of Metropolitan Boston Real Estate, Nebury Street brokerage, said that this is good news because this will serve as a motivation for anyone who is considering refinancing knowing that the low rates won’t stay very long.

Here are the possible savings that homeowners can generate: for a mortgage of $250,000 with 5% interest, they could save about $160 monthly and $2,020 yearly if they refinance the loan for 4.39%. These savings provide a guaranteed cash in the bank during these present times when traditional savings account have nearly zero percent in returns and the gyrations in the stock market have exhausted the investment accounts.

Bankrate.com’s senior financial analyst Greg McBride said that anybody who decides to refinance at these very low rates are sure beneficiaries of the economic concerns and Wall Street challenges.
The three lenders listed in Bankrate.com that offers 30 year fixed loans with less than 4.39% interest are AimLoan.com at 4.19%, Loan Depot at 4.25% and American Interbanc.com at 4.35%. All three are offered with zero points.

Albano said that even if the low rates are great news for most mortgage owners who pass the requirements of credit and equity to qualify for refinancing, potential buyers will still not leave the sidelines. He thinks that people who are observing the rates and decides that they are not ready to purchase at 4.5% will change their mind when the rates fall at 4.3%.

If you are looking to refinance your mortgage, then you may want to consider doing it soon. As you may know, last Friday, Standard and Poor’s downgraded US treasuries from AAA to AA+. This is the first time in history that the U.S. has had a downgrade.

Then, on Monday, Standard and Poors also downgraded Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. While it is unclear as to the final effects of the downgrade, many financial experts are prediciting that the cost of money will go up, effectively raising interest rates.

If this happens, it could be problematic for an already sluggish economy,a nd could further depress the already lagging housing market. Higher interest rates would effectively make home ownership more expensive.

As for those with bad credit or poor credit, these changes could put you completely out of the market. While the agencies push to regain their credit ratings, they may be forced to be even more conservative with lending practices, and that would make credit or loans for people with bad credit almost out of reach.

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Related articles

• US debt downgrade could mean rate hikes for all (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• S&P Downgrade Could Feed Home Buyer ‘Anxiety’ (blogs.wsj.com)
• Economy sends mortgage rates down to new 2011 lows (hsh.com)

Get help with your Decision About Mortgage Refinancing. It always helps to have an outside objective opinion. And remember when you refinance you will get a loan based on your income and your credit score. The better your credit score the better interest rate you will get. And remember the loan is against your income not the value of your house

Check your credit report for any errors that can drive up your interest rate. And realize with these tough economic times a great score years ago will only be a so so score today. Make sure that you contact the reporting agency for anything that looks wrong to your before applying for a loan.

You will also want to ask yourself if you want a variable loan or a fixed loan. You might only be able to qualify for a variable loan given your work income and your credit score. This is what gets some people in trouble.

The variable is attractive because it has a lower initial rate and lower monthly payment. But it will go up make certain of that. And this is where some people have gotten in trouble. They think that they will have more money when it does go up. But you cannot count on a raise every year in this economy.

Do not kid yourself in this case. If you cannot pay the payment you are looking at losing your home. No one wants that. If you are refinancing a fixed rate mortgage you have to realize that you will start all over with a new loan. If you have ten years on a thirty year fixed, you will start all over with a new loan.

You will now have another fixed term of the loan whether that is another thirty years or whatever the term of the loan is. If you are taking money out with the refinance you have to realize that you are taking out the equity of your home now and using that money today. This is what gets some people in trouble. They refinance and take out the equity of their home.

When they sell their home for whatever reason they realize that they will either have to pay the bank money because their home is worth below the amount they owe the bank because their home may have gone down in value since they refinanced. Some people believe that the value of their home will continue to go up so they will always have a growing equity amount in their home; but as the economy has shown that this is certainly not the case.

What you do with the money you take out of the refinance is up to you. But if you are thinking of refinancing it is a good idea to consult with an independent financial advisor to go over all of your options. The more you understand your choices and the results of your choices the better.

In addition to having less debt by refinancing a mortgage, also look at GIC rates to get higher fixed income returns. Mortgage rates vary from lender to lender so ask around.

Remortgages and secured loans are both forms of homeowner loans. However there are differences between these two financial products that most people are unaware of.

To be eligible for either a remortgage or a secured loan you must be a homeowner, as both have to be secured on the equity of a property which can be a first or a second home. They both can be used for numerous reasons.

Sometimes in the case of a remortgage the borrower only wants a like for like remortgage which means that he is replacing his current mortgage with a remortgage of the same value, but which incurs a lower rate of interest. He has an existing mortgage of 210,000 and takes out a remortgage with a different mortgage lender again for 210,000, but the repayment is less each month.

Mainly additional funds are requested when a homeowner remortgages, exactly as happens with the secured loan.

When a homeowner wants to carry out home improvements the best way is to arrange a remortgage or a secured loan. This applies to all sorts of home improvements, and using a secured loan or remortgage will cost a fraction of the cost than a loan taken out through a home improvement company.

You are not tied to any one company by taking out a secured loan or a remortgage for home improvements as you would be with the home improvement company.You will have the ready funds available to pay cash and as such get yourself the best deal.

Remortgages and secured loans can also be the way of paying for an exotic far flung holiday, a wedding, to buy a boat, etc. etc.

There are pros and cons with remortgages and secured loans. Remortgages normally take well over a month to even six to eight weeks to pay out and the secured loan should be paid out in less than three weeks. Therefore if speed is of the essence you may be best to go down the secured loan route, although bear in mind that a remortgage will in general have a lower interest rate than the secured loan.

The main difference between a remortgage and a secured loan is that the remortgage pays of your existing mortgage, and with the secured loan your current mortgage remains in place and the secured loan is a second mortgage secured on the equity of your property.

secured loans