Who else refinanced this week?

[DisBride2007]

Our neighbors recieved a notice that they were going to have to start paying PMI since property values dropped so much.

Uh oh... this really scares me. Is anyone else hearing of this happening and in what areas? While home prices have dropped around us I'm not sure how they would really figure out what our current "value" is especially since we have done some upgrades since buying the house. Would this be a reason not to refinance?

 

[mom of princessx2]

Has anyone looked at Wells Fargo rates? I'm at 6.875% and hoping to come down at least a point. Unfortunately, I'm unemployed due to a layoff and not sure if they would refinance us. Never been late with a payment and I've even been able to send extra to put towards principal. I have 20% equity on the house already (put 20% as down payment). We bought the house last year.

Just called Wells Fargo because my statement said they have no closing cost REFI. Said I can get 5.375% with no closing. I am currently at 6.125% so I now I need to make the decision....REFI now w/ no closing or wait and see if rates will go lower. If you plan on staying in your house for awhile it might be worth the call.

 

[mtblujeans]

Just an FYI, if you are referring to the Fed Funds rate announcement, that doesn't usually impact mortgage rates.

In talking to our bank, it might. This could be an interesting week.

 

[emilymad]

We might be looking to refinance but I have a bunch of questions. What is the best way to find a good mortagage broker? Just call around?

 

[mrspaha]

I am SO glad I saw this thread; I hadn't even thought about refinancing. We're at 5.75% with a 30-yr fixed. I'm going to have to do a lot of figuring, but this might be a good way to also get some cash out to help pay for 2 kids in college.

I'm anxious to see what others are doing with their refinancing...

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

The broker who drew up our original mortagage called last week with an offer to save us $90/month. The rate is about 1.25% lower and will save 30K over the life of the loan, but I really don't want to part with Chase, who has had our mortgage for all but one month of the past year since we bought our house.

It's only a preapproval and I'm afraid of getting the new loan from some oddball bank and having it sold off any number of times if it goes through. I'm thinking of calling Chase to see what they can do for us.

 

[minnie1928]

I just found this article on bankrate.com and thought the readers of this thread might be interested in it:

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/mtg/20081211-mortgage-modification-help-a1.asp

Of course now that I read it...it sounds like it's written towards those getting loan modifications due to financial pressure, not necessarily a refinance.

 

[lenshanem]

We were set to close tomorrow at a locked rate of 5.6, but the closing has been postponed. The woman helping us thinks we need to wait... She thinks we may close later this week or next week now. How long does it take to effect mortgage rates once the fed announces anything?

 

[minnie1928]

We were set to close tomorrow at a locked rate of 5.6, but the closing has been postponed. The woman helping us thinks we need to wait... She thinks we may close later this week or next week now. How long does it take to effect mortgage rates once the fed announces anything?

In the past I was always told that mortgage rates didn't move in coordinated step with the fed funds rate. Of course, that was before the whole mess that's been 2008.

 

[lenshanem]

In the past I was always told that mortgage rates didn't move in coordinated step with the fed funds rate. Of course, that was before the whole mess that's been 2008.

So why did they tell us to hold off and why are people here guessing it is gonna drop into the 4s? I hope we're not making a mistake...

 

[minnie1928]

So why did they tell us to hold off and why are people here guessing it is gonna drop into the 4s? I hope we're not making a mistake...

Not sure why, the current FF rate is at 1% (obviously much lower than the current mortgage rates) and from what I read there is an expectation/hope the rate will be lowered to .5%.

Up until June of this year, I worked in banking for 20 years. I was always told that the FF rate did not drive mortgage rates. However, that was before the meltdown of the financial markets. Maybe we're dealing with a completely new beast now?

I always looked at refinancing this way, are you happy with the rate they are offering you now? Would you regret it if it went up and you didn't jump on it now? If the answer is yes, then sign the documents. If not, then wait and see how it plays out. The other thing to consider is whether or not an 1/8-1/4 of a point really makes that much of a difference. Obviously loan size plays into that...

 

[princessmorgan]

We just bought our house in August and opted for a loan rate that was 3/4 of a point higher rather than paying private mortgage insurance, b/c our payments would be lower. We just checked into refinancing and they could get us a better rate in the 5's, but with PMI our payments would be the same as what we are paying now. Does anyone know of anyway around it? We need PMI due to our loan to value. We only put 10% down. And they would refinance for what we paid for the house not a new assessment. Thanks for any help/advice!

 

[stingmom]

subscribing....all those saving could mean another cruise on Disney!!!

 

[Chereya]

Not sure why, the current FF rate is at 1% (obviously much lower than the current mortgage rates) and from what I read there is an expectation/hope the rate will be lowered to .5%.

Up until June of this year, I worked in banking for 20 years. I was always told that the FF rate did not drive mortgage rates. However, that was before the meltdown of the financial markets. Maybe we're dealing with a completely new beast now?

OP here. I'm glad this thread is helping so many people out. Our mortgage broker just called this morning to say he was able to get us a 4.625% for 30 years so we ditched the 5.125% and opted for this one instead. My CPA thinks there the market could still go lower but I'm too chicken to let this one go and keep waiting. I'd be so sad if I missed out and this was the lowest it got.

 

[seeking pixie dust]

Who is your mortgage broker and what state are you in? Is that with points for without...to the above poster getting the 4.625.

 

[a1tinkfans]

I am headed to bank tomorrow to see what my current bank/lender will offer me!

 

[Chereya]

Who is your mortgage broker and what state are you in? Is that with points for without...to the above poster getting the 4.625.

I live in Wisconsin and we worked with our broker for our original purchase just about 15 months ago. He has been really awesome, very proactive and so informative; really looking out for us and offering service above and beyond. I couldn't be happier about doing business with the guy. It was just a quick phone call this morning for him to ask if I wanted the rate lock so I don't have all the particulars yet. We'll be going into his office tomorrow to go over the paperwork so I can post more after then.

 

[punkin]

Our neighbors recieved a notice that they were going to have to start paying PMI since property values dropped so much. They called Chase to complain saying they would have a hardship paying the extra money. By the end of the phone call they agreed to 3 months of PMI but a renegotiated rate a full 1% lower with no extra fees. They just had to sign some paperwork and ended up with a lower payment. She asked if this would affect their credit score in a negative way and the agent said no, it was just saving Chase from losing a customer by having them shop around to refinance.

That can't be right (or possibly even legal).

 

[Zoom]

OP here. I'm glad this thread is helping so many people out. Our mortgage broker just called this morning to say he was able to get us a 4.625% for 30 years so we ditched the 5.125% and opted for this one instead. My CPA thinks there the market could still go lower but I'm too chicken to let this one go and keep waiting. I'd be so sad if I missed out and this was the lowest it got.

Thank you for posting this thread. Didn't think of refinancing til i read this thread. I emailed my agent and she can get me 4.75% for 30 yrs (we're on 5.8% right now) if we locked it, it can be changed if rates go down more in 30 days.

 

[DebMcDonald]

As much as we would like too, we were told we probably can't refinance because housing prices have dropped drastically in the town we live in.

We just built 18 months ago and put down 20%. Our rate is currently 6.125.