Refinancing Archives – Page 3 of 7 – Fred Gruber

26

Mar

Mortgage

What Are The Most Common Mistakes Homeowners Make When Refinancing?

What Are The Most Common Mistakes Homeowners Make When Refinancing? There are lots of people who are looking to take advantage of low interest rates to refinance their homes. This provides homeowners with an opportunity to save tens of thousands of dollars over the life of the loan. It could also allow homeowners to access equity to finance a home renovation or shave years off their mortgage. On the other hand, there are also a lot of people who make mistakes during the refinancing process. What are some of the mistakes that everyone should make sure they avoid?

Avoid Saying Yes To Loan Forbearance On A Mortgage

First, try to avoid mortgage forbearance if you can. If homeowners decide to pursue mortgage forbearance, they might have a bit of extra cash on hand because they will be able to skip a few payments. On the other hand, this could signal that the homeowner has issues related to his or her cash flow. As a result, homeowners might not get the best offer possible when they apply to refinance their mortgage down the road.

Always Check The Credit Score Before Applying

Next, homeowners should always check their credit scores before they decide to apply for a refinancing opportunity. It is not unusual for people to have mistakes in their credit scores. Nobody should have to pay for someone else’s financial mistakes. Homeowners have to remove these inaccuracies from the credit report before they apply for a refinancing opportunity. That way, homeowners have access to the best terms possible.

Check The Estimate Before Agreeing To A Refinance

Finally, homeowners also have to check the estimate before they agree to a refinance. Even though there are opportunities to save a lot of money, there are other fees involved. These could include points, origination fees, and other fees that could be included in closing costs. Homeowners have to be ready to pay these costs if they are going to refinance their loans.

Avoid These Mistakes When Refinancing

These are a few of the most common mistakes people make when they go through the refinancing process. By avoiding these mistakes, homeowners can place themselves in the best position possible to save money by refinancing their loan to more favorable terms.

12

Jan

By First Rate Financial Group

Home Buyer Tips

Should I Shorten My Mortgage Term, Important Factors To Consider

Should I Shorten My Mortgage Term, Important Factors To Consider When you first bought your home a few years ago, perhaps you started off with a 30 year mortgage. Now, you are considering refinancing and changing it to a 20 year or even a 15 year mortgage.

Shortening your mortgage term and refinancing can be a smart financial move, but before you make this decision there are a number of factors that you should consider.

Switching to a shorter mortgage will mean that your monthly payments will be higher, but you will be 100% paid off much sooner and you will save thousands of dollars in interest rates. Here are a few of the factors to consider before making this decision:

Has Your Situation Improved?

Perhaps you have moved to a higher paying position, allowing you to earn a higher income and pay off more of your mortgage every month? Or maybe you have received an inheritance, which will help you to make the payments? Perhaps your expenses have gone down and you will have more money left over from your wage?

Whatever the reason, if your financial situation has improved you might want to consider switching to a shorter mortgage. With your spare money, you will be able to make the larger payments and get your house paid off sooner.

Is The Improvement Long Term?

However, it is important to consider whether this improvement will last for the long term. Will your higher wage stay that way for the next several years? Are there any hidden expenses that you are failing to factor in?

You might be set up to repay larger monthly amounts on your mortgage at the moment, but you don’t want to set yourself up for failure in the future if your finances change.

What Are The Refinancing Costs?

Keep in mind that refinancing often comes with costs and fees, so make sure that you subtract these when you are making your calculations. It can sometimes take at least two or three years to recoup the fees, so make sure that you don’t plan on selling your home in the short term.

Can You Get A Better Rate?

One of the advantages of refinancing to a shorter mortgage is that you can sometimes get the opportunity to find a better rate. Perhaps if you have an adjustable rate you will be able to convert it to a fixed rate. Take a look at what is available and ask your financial advisor for help.

These are just a few important factors to consider when it comes to shortening your mortgage term. For more info about your home, contact your trusted mortgage professional.

29

Oct

By First Rate Financial Group

Mortgage

The Required Steps For A Smooth Mortgage Refinance Process

The Required Steps For a Smooth Mortgage Refinance Process There are lots of people who have heard that one of the top ways to ensure the best mortgage rate possible is to refinance. At the same time, it is critical to make sure that this process is planned out accordingly.

Therefore, there are a few steps that everyone has to follow to make sure they are able to handle the mortgage refinancing process in a smooth manner that leads to the best rate possible.

Ask If A Refinance Is The Right Step

There are a lot of people who assume that a mortgage refinance is a financial win; however, it is important to keep the added costs in mind. For example, the refinancing process is going to lead to another closing. When this happens, there are going to be closing costs that must be considered.

Therefore, the refinancing process could lead to a higher mortgage payment if the money saved on interest payments is not enough to offset these costs.

Check The Credit Score First

Many people get lured into the refinance process by looking at low mortgage interest rates and assuming they are going to qualify for them; however, this is not always the case. Only the people with the top credit scores are able to qualify for these low rates. Therefore, everyone needs to take a look at their credit score and make sure that their credit report has been cleaned up. This is the only way that people are going to be able to qualify for these low rates.

Talk To A Trained Professional

Finally, many people are going to be going through the refinance process for the first time. It is important to work with a trained professional who can walk everyone through this process, ensuring that they know what they are doing as the process unfolds. This can go a long way toward ensuring that everyone has a successful refinancing experience.

Go Through The Right Steps

Following these steps can maximize everyone’s chances of making sure they end up with a refinance that works for them. By planning out the process ahead of time, everyone can go through the steps they need to make sure that the refinancing process proceeds as smoothly as possible.