Seeking Refinancing Advice

[manchurianbrownbear]

I'm sure there are a couple of you out there that are experts on this topic. I'm not!

Any suggestions for lenders to work with or maybe some "do's and don'ts of refinancing?

We'd kind of like to get down to a 15year mortgage if our payment doesn't go up TOO much.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[StampMom]

I'm sure someone else will have more info and suggestions on particular things to look for, but I just wanted to say that we refinanced a few months ago, and we found our lender through http://www.lendingtree.com . It was pretty cool to be able to compare several "offers" from different lenders. And we actually ended up in a situation where we were deciding between 2, and got both to come down a bit on their rates and/or closing costs in order to try to get our business.

It's a free service -- might as well check it out, even if you don't end up choosing one of the participating lenders.

Good luck!

 

[FOJMO]

You might start with your current mortgage lender. That way, I don't think you have to re-qualify. We're just starting on ours, as we have a 8.625% 1st mortgage and an 11.9% second mortgage! We hope to save quite a bit with refinancing!

Good luck!

 

[ToyStory Fan]

lending tree is a good place to start, but you need to find out if there is a "penalty" for changing banks. Here in NY there is...there is a mortgage transfer tax that can add up and most likely a new bank will require new surveys, title searches etc. Sometimes if you stay with the same bank (if they haven't sold your original note) there may be a slightly higher rate, but fewer costs to bake into the new amount.

As far as the 30yr down to 15 goes depending on what your current rate is there is no reason not to expect that your payment would not increase significantly. We dropped about 1.25% from our rate, 30 to 15 (25 years left on our 30) and only added about $200 to our monthly (which we were paying anyway under the old one every month as additional principal paydown). So I think it is do-able.

 

[Nuts4Disney]

Pay attention to the fees, too.

When we refinanced, the lenders were very competitive & the rates turned out to be the same, but the fees were very different. We were able to save a few thousand dollars by negotitating some of those fees.

You can use a mortgage calculator to figure the difference btwn 15 & 30yr mortgage payments. I don't know a website off the top of my head [perhaps someone else knows of one], but you can probably find one on the lending tree site, a lender's website, or using a search engine.

Best of Luck w/ your refinancing!

 

[manchurianbrownbear]

thanks everyone for the advice! that's enough to help me get started.

 

[mrsltg]

manchurian... depending upon your finances, and your position (age) in life, you might want to stick with a 30year being that the interest rates are so low right now. A 30 year fixed would mean a longer mortgage, but smaller monthly payments. While it may be tempting to take a 15 year loan on, at 4-5%, it's close to free money to keep a 30 year. You can always send more money each month (any extra is applied directly to principle), but still have the extra cash if you need it. This is especially important if you are young (having kids and their expenses to pay for). You also want to hold onto that tax deduction as long as possible. As a general rule of thumb, if the interest is close to the same, and what you are buying is something that will appreciate in value, you are better off taking the longest available terms.

Good luck with your decision.

Erin

 

[luvwinnie]

I was happy with the service. Just be warned that it might be hard to get in touch with the loan officers quickly...they are SO busy...and can be hard to track down.