Anyone refi lately? What rates are out there?

[Nennie]

I'm looking at doing a refi on a standard mortgage and am getting quotes for 15 year rates between 3.15 and 3.75 (no points on any of them, but the 3.15 looks a little heavy on closing costs).

Anyone getting better rates? If so, can you please post who the lender is?? Also what kind of closing costs are they charging?

Thanks!!!

 

[tink9702]

I haven't recently - but the best way to compare the total cost of each mortgage - apples to apples rather than apples to oranges is to look at the APR. It should be on the Good Faith Estimate and includes both the interest rate and the closing costs. That way you can compare the total cost to you.

Good luck!

 

[ADisneyQueen]

We were going to refinance with our lender Wells Fargo but decided to go with our local bank for about the same interest rate and no closing costs. Call your local banks.

 

[wendow]

We just closed on a refi of a 30 year loan. Our new interest rate is 3.875%. We paid no closing costs at all other than the prepaids (insurance, taxes, etc). Nothing else. We used a mortgage company who is local to us but works nationwide. They were great.

 

[pittsburghmom]

We just refinanced about 1.5 months ago. Got locked in at 2.875% on a 15 year loan. I would have to look up the closing costs, as they were rolled into the loan. We used a local mortgage broker who we know and trust. Our loan is through Franklin American Mortgage.

 

[tvguy]

My how times change. We jumped to buy a house 32 years ago when mortgage rates dropped from 16% to 12.25 % in a period of a few months.
Not sure how we made those payments. Folks that were my current age back then were crushed at the rate drop, they loved getting 14 or 15% on their CD's at the bank.

 

[Ngwira]

My how times change. We jumped to buy a house 32 years ago when mortgage rates dropped from 16% to 12.25 % in a period of a few months.
Not sure how we made those payments. Folks that were my current age back then were crushed at the rate drop, they loved getting 14 or 15% on their CD's at the bank.

Houses were also 25-50k back then. Not so now

 

[Sadie22]

Townhouses here were that cheap then. I remember assuming a loan which was considered a low-interest loan then. It was two to three times what we pay now.

So many seem to look for 15-year loans when there is more flexibility with a 30-year loan to make smaller payments when cash flow is tighter and larger payments when cash flow is greater.

 

[tvguy]

Houses were also 25-50k back then. Not so now

I wish. $88,800 was the national average in 1983. Mine was $101,000.
https://www.census.gov/const/uspricemon.pdf

 

[tripletmomsrock]

We did a refi from a 30 to a 15-Fixed. Our interest rate is 3.2% through Bank of America. I was really excited because we knocked 10 years off our mortgage time and our monthly only went up $250 a month.

 

[MouseLover]

We are closing on fha refi next week. Fixed 30-yr at 3.75. Closing costs & prepaids are about $5000, rolled into the loan. Only cash paid upfront was $400 appraisal fee. Local bank.

 

[Ngwira]

I wish. $88,800 was the national average in 1983. Mine was $101,000.
https://www.census.gov/const/uspricemon.pdf

The house we live in and bought in 2013 for $180,000 was built and sold in 1983 for $50,000.

 

[Ngwira]

We refied in May 2015. Fha refi. Fixed 30 year at 3.25. We used a mortgage broker.

 

[tvguy]

The house we live in and bought in 2013 for $180,000 was built and sold in 1983 for $50,000.

Yup mine was sold for $79,995 brand new in 1979. We bought it for $101,000 in 1983. According to Zillow it was worth $500,000 in 2007 before the recession, and is worth $331,240 today according to Zillow. That may be low because the house down the street that is 250 square feet smaller just sold for $380,000.

 

[bdcp]

We also bought our first house when rates were high (15.5% in 1982 for a $50,000 townhouse) in Virginia Beach. 25K houses didn't exist even then in a lot of areas. Heck, my parents paid 37,000 in MD in 1973 for a single family house (raised rancher). We refid about 2 years ago to a new 30 year 3.75% VA loan. We don't worry about the length as we do not plan to stay here for 30 years. We're in our 50's and will be retiring in about 7 years and plan to downsize. It's all about cash flow anyway. We've owned 4 homes over the last 34 years and have refinanced everyone at least once when rates dropped.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Houses were also 25-50k back then. Not so now

Maybe some houses in undesirable areas were. My first house, purchased in 1983 in Washington state was almost $100,000 and was nothing special.

 

[tvguy]

We also bought our first house when rates were high (15.5% in 1982 for a $50,000 townhouse) in Virginia Beach. 25K houses didn't exist even then in a lot of areas. Heck, my parents paid 37,000 in MD in 1973 for a single family house (raised rancher). We refid about 2 years ago to a new 30 year 3.75% VA loan. We don't worry about the length as we do not plan to stay here for 30 years. We're in our 50's and will be retiring in about 7 years and plan to downsize. It's all about cash flow anyway. We've owned 4 homes over the last 34 years and have refinanced everyone at least once when rates dropped.

Yeah, we refinanced a few times....12.25% 30 year........to 9% 30 year............ to 6.25 to 15 year....paid off 16 years ago. Payment went from $1150 to $900 to $625...but we always paid the $1150 thus it was paid off 17 years after we bought it. We hope to retire in 4 years and this will be our retirement home. With that in mind we did a top to bottom remodel last year to transform it from our family home to our retirement home. With the way property taxes are here in California, where taxes are set by why you paid for a house, not it's current value, a smaller house would double or triple our property taxes and would make no economic sense.

 

[DVCcurious]

To the OP: Bankrate.com has some good information and you can put in your zip code to get real rates for your area (rates can vary by area). Rates also vary by type of house. We have a condo so our rate was 1/8th higher than it would have been if we had a single family home.

To everyone else: weren't candy bars like .25 cents and a movie ticket was $5 back "in your day" as well?

The reality of house price history simple: back before say 1980 most women were housewives and the husband worked. So the family had 1 income. Therefore the monthly house payment was a function of a single income (25% of monthly gross). Now in 2015 most women work and so households have two incomes. So now the monthly payment is a function of two incomes (25% of monthly gross but of two incomes instead of one)

In the past 40 years or so house prices have "doubled" due to 2 income households if you held interest rates steady at 15%. When you also factor in the drop in interest rates from 15% to 4% and that pushes up house prices also.

Based on those two factors my parents house they bought in 1976 for $30,000 is now worth $500,000. This is a 7.3% annual increase vs inflation of about 3%.

 

[tvguy]

To the OP: Bankrate.com has some good information and you can put in your zip code to get real rates for your area (rates can vary by area). Rates also vary by type of house. We have a condo so our rate was 1/8th higher than it would have been if we had a single family home.

To everyone else: weren't candy bars like .25 cents and a movie ticket was $5 back "in your day" as well?

The reality of house price history simple: back before say 1980 most women were housewives and the husband worked. So the family had 1 income. Therefore the monthly house payment was a function of a single income (25% of monthly gross). Now in 2015 most women work and so households have two incomes. So now the monthly payment is a function of two incomes (25% of monthly gross but of two incomes instead of one)

In the past 40 years or so house prices have "doubled" due to 2 income households if you held interest rates steady at 15%. When you also factor in the drop in interest rates from 15% to 4% and that pushes up house prices also.

Based on those two factors my parents house they bought in 1976 for $30,000 is now worth $500,000. This is a 7.3% annual increase vs inflation of about 3%.

It depends where you live I guess. One of the factors in the Ford Mustang being so successful in 1964-1966 was families need a second car because both spouses were working....I know the stay at home mom was not the norm in my neighborhood by the time I started school in 1962. Movies were still $3.25 here into the 80's. My parents house sold 2 years ago for $500,000, it cost $30,000 in 1960 so your parents enjoyed above average appreciation in their home.

 

[Judique]

Houses were also 25-50k back then. Not so now

Not my house. I only wish! I had a starter home and my rate was 11.9% and my loan was well over 100K back then.

The monthly payment was high and I refied at least 3 times to get it to a smaller amount on a conventional loan.

The good thing was I paid substantially less than the appraised value and was able to subdivide and sell part of the property, so I was very fortunate.