Refinance 1st and 2nd mortgage

[120304]

Hello all, we were hit hard financially with the recession and ended up getting a 2nd mtg on our home (wish we never did!). I recently got a quote from Quicken Loans to combine our 1st mtg (30 yr 4.375 fixed) and 2nd (30yr 7.375 fixed) to a fixed rate of 3.625 for a 15 year. Our payments will increase by about $400 a month which is doable as we have payed off most of all of our other debt (credit cards). Just wondering if anyone has dealt with Quicken and if they can give any insight into the process and how the company is to deal with. I believe I asked all of the right questions and there shouldn't be any surprise costs etc. Also, would it be better to stick with a 30yr (rate is 4.375 and payment is roughly what we pay now for both mortgages together) or just go for the 15 year?

Thank you so much! I appreciate any and all advice and opinions.

 

[supersnoop]

Shop around for a better rate. I really, really like the 5/5 ARM from PenFed.

 

[daughtersrus]

Hello all, we were hit hard financially with the recession and ended up getting a 2nd mtg on our home (wish we never did!). I recently got a quote from Quicken Loans to combine our 1st mtg (30 yr 4.375 fixed) and 2nd (30yr 7.375 fixed) to a fixed rate of 3.625 for a 15 year. Our payments will increase by about $400 a month which is doable as we have payed off most of all of our other debt (credit cards). Just wondering if anyone has dealt with Quicken and if they can give any insight into the process and how the company is to deal with. I believe I asked all of the right questions and there shouldn't be any surprise costs etc. Also, would it be better to stick with a 30yr (rate is 4.375 and payment is roughly what we pay now for both mortgages together) or just go for the 15 year?

Thank you so much! I appreciate any and all advice and opinions.

I would check around. I have a friend in the business. She said that most of the lawyers that she works with will not represents clients that use Quicken because of all of the problems and delays that they've experienced with them at closing.

 

[leebee]

We weren't happy with Quicken when we were refinancing. Nothing terrible, it just took them forever and a day to do anything. We weren't really considering refinancing when a friend told DH about the great rate he got with Quicken. We talked about it for awhile and decided to go ahead and refinance, so we got a bunch of quotes from different places. Ended up going with TDBank. We had our refinancing completed and DH's friend was still waiting for Quicken to get everything together and in place. I like having my mortgage with the bank down the street!

 

[barkley]

Hello all, we were hit hard financially with the recession and ended up getting a 2nd mtg on our home (wish we never did!). I recently got a quote from Quicken Loans to combine our 1st mtg (30 yr 4.375 fixed) and 2nd (30yr 7.375 fixed) to a fixed rate of 3.625 for a 15 year. Our payments will increase by about $400 a month which is doable as we have payed off most of all of our other debt (credit cards). Just wondering if anyone has dealt with Quicken and if they can give any insight into the process and how the company is to deal with. I believe I asked all of the right questions and there shouldn't be any surprise costs etc. Also, would it be better to stick with a 30yr (rate is 4.375 and payment is roughly what we pay now for both mortgages together) or just go for the 15 year?

Thank you so much! I appreciate any and all advice and opinions.

have you checked to see what rates you could get locally to yourself at a credit union? we used one the last time (paid off now) and the costs were lower, the customer service was better, and the rates can be much better. just for the heck of it I just looked at what home loan re-fi's are going for at one of our locals (annual percentage rate and no prepayment penalty)-

3.476-15 year fixed
3.928-20 year fixed
4.256-30 year fixed.


since you've experienced what a pain a downturn in finances can be (as did we) I wouldn't nesc. jump into a 15 year (with the payment amount increase you've quoted) when you might be able to do a 20 year for a lower overall payment. you could initially take the difference between your current mortgage payment(s) and a lower 20 year-throw that at your credit card debt each month, and then when that's paid off-put that same amount (and if you're feeling generous, the amount you currently pay towards credit cards each month) and begin throwing that at the mortgage principle each month. this way if you experience a downturn or a tight financial month you're not locked into a higher payment but if you want to/can you could pay off the new mortgage much faster.

 

[craigkerstiens]

I've actually been incredibly pleased with Quicken. Though I went through Schwab which then uses Quicken so I dealt with a little of both, but the process was amazing compared to that of Wells Fargo and Bank of America. It was for a HELOC and not a mortgage, but Schwab covered all of my closing costs, was thorough and clearly communicating throughout the process, then they had a notary show up at my house at closing so I didn't have to worry about making it anywhere else (they would have come to my work as well if that was easier on me). I haven't dealt with small community/regional banks or credit unions but Schwab and by proxy Quicken was amazing to the point I've continued moving more and more accounts over to Schwab wherever possible.

 

[120304]

Thank you all for taking the time to give advice and recount your experiences. I am going to call around locally and ask if there may be better options. We are members of a credit union, so will try there first. Thanks again to everyone, much appreciated!! Happy Summer!

 

[PatMcDuck]

I get offers from my actual first mortgage company, CitiMortgage, and we are considering doing this as well. They will do it with no closing costs, I think, I guess because they already have the property on their books. CC will be paid off in a year, (I know! but there were complicated reasons why CC debt soared). We actually have a ridiculous home equity that is interest only to combine.

 

[amandaleigh2]

We just did a refi where we combined our first and second mortgages. I called around and was quoted pretty much the same rate. The level of customer service I received varied greatly. We ended up using Nationstar and everything was quick and easy. It was about a month between when I first called them and when we signed the closing documents. I called Quicken for a quote, but was not happy with the salesman they set me up with. For some reason I couldn't get him to give me a firm price. I kept asking for a bottom line monthly payment and he kept dancing around the issue. lol. Not sure what that was all about...

 

[sharbear]

We just refinanced our mortgage and it was 3% for 15 years. We did have credit scores over 800 and stayed with the same mortgage company so idk if that affected our low rate.

When we closed, the closing officer that our rate was the lowest she had seen in a while.

 

[Ngwira]

We refinanced our FHA mortgage at the end of May and got a 3.35 interest rate (locked in from April). Our payment went down $200.00. No closing costs either. My CS was a 765 and DH's a 660. We used hills mortgage company in NJ.

 

[arthur06]

Shop around for a better rate. I really, really like the 5/5 ARM from PenFed.

Why would you ever recommend a ARM when the rates are close to historic lows?

A 5 year ARM is about the worst advice you could give.

 

[supersnoop]

Why would you ever recommend a ARM when the rates are close to historic lows?

A 5 year ARM is about the worst advice you could give.

It's a 5/5 ARM, which means the first reset is 5 years away, and it can only reset again after another 5 years. Historically, Penfed has covered all closing costs (though I don't see that promotion right now). And it's a full point lower (mine's at 2.625%). And, it's a maximum 2% increase every 5 years based on prevailing market rates, with a max of 5% over the life of the loan. So, the worst case is, after 15 years, it would be the same rate as the OP is already paying. And, right now, the reset rate at 5 years is the same rate the OP has been quoted for loan today.

"Never get an ARM" falls into that category of financial advice along with "never buy a timeshare" or "don't buy the extended warranty." If you really know what you're doing, sometimes it makes sense. If you're trying to pay it off more quickly; if you're going to sell within 10 years; if you think rates will stay flat for the next five years, it can make sense. Basically, if you're willing to take on a small amount of risk to potentially save lots of money, it's a good idea.

 

[arthur06]

It's a 5/5 ARM, which means the first reset is 5 years away, and it can only reset again after another 5 years. Historically, Penfed has covered all closing costs (though I don't see that promotion right now). And it's a full point lower (mine's at 2.625%). And, it's a maximum 2% increase every 5 years based on prevailing market rates, with a max of 5% over the life of the loan. So, the worst case is, after 15 years, it would be the same rate as the OP is already paying. And, right now, the reset rate at 5 years is the same rate the OP has been quoted for loan today.

"Never get an ARM" falls into that category of financial advice along with "never buy a timeshare" or "don't buy the extended warranty." If you really know what you're doing, sometimes it makes sense. If you're trying to pay it off more quickly; if you're going to sell within 10 years; if you think rates will stay flat for the next five years, it can make sense. Basically, if you're willing to take on a small amount of risk to potentially save lots of money, it's a good idea.

I don't recall me saying "Never get an ARM" so I know that wasn't intended to reference what I was saying. However, you did say if you "really know what you're doing, sometimes it makes sense." It seems to me that you insulted my comment to say if that if your really smart that sometimes a 5/5 arm makes sense.

It just seems a bit risky for me with rates in the 3's. If you are happy with the product, done your due diligence, intend to pay it off early, and can live with the risk, than you may have a great deal. However, the OP stated that they were hit hard with the recession and their 2nd was over 7%. Seems to me that they would be more of a candidate for a tradition 15, 20 or even 30 year fixed.

 

[supersnoop]

A 5 year ARM is about the worst advice you could give.

It seems to me that you insulted my comment to say if that if your really smart that sometimes a 5/5 arm makes sense.

I think you meant "insinuated" here, but your original post did seem more like an insult. I think my response was in line with your insinuation.

It just seems a bit risky for me with rates in the 3's. If you are happy with the product, done your due diligence, intend to pay it off early, and can live with the risk, than you may have a great deal. However, the OP stated that they were hit hard with the recession and their 2nd was over 7%. Seems to me that they would be more of a candidate for a tradition 15, 20 or even 30 year fixed.

There are many more variables in the equation than just "hit hard with the recession," and we know very few of them. If the OP thinks they a 15-year is a good idea, then they may be in a much better financial position now. Only they know how long they'll be in their current house. Last I hear, the average home ownership was only 7 years, with the average life of a mortgage at 4 years. Regardless, the 5/5 is on a 30-year amortization, so it would give them more flexibility than a 15-year loan. Like I said at the beginning, I really, really like it.

 

[Alexle2007]

We refinanced a few years ago from a 30 year to 15 year and it was the best decision ever! Although it hurts our taxes since we have less interest to write-off but that is ok since we will have saved a huge amount in the long run. We used Provident. All of my correspondence with them was via email and it was super easy and reasonably quick. We had our appraisal completed and were getting ready to go to closing (at our house) and our area had gone through a hurricane and they had to have the appraiser come out and make sure our home was not damaged which held up closing. For 2.625% it was so worth it. We don't even worry about paying extra on it since we earn more investing in stock market. I would definitely go with the 15 year if you can swing it.