By refinancing your mortgage to pay down debt, you could significantly reduce the interest rate on some of your high-interest debt. ... But if you have debt that's going to take you a long time to pay off anyway, it makes more sense to use a cash-out refinance loan to repay it.
Mortgage refinancing is not always the best idea, even when mortgage rates are low and friends and colleagues are talking about who snagged the lowest interest rate. This is because refinancing a mortgage can be time-consuming, expensive at closing, and will result in the lender pulling your credit score.
One of the first reasons to avoid refinancing is that it takes too much time for you to recoup the new loan's closing costs. This time is known as the break-even period or the number of months to reach the point when you start saving. At the end of the break-even period, you fully offset the costs of refinancing.
Refinancing Risks
If you focus only on the interest rate of a new mortgage, you're missing the overall picture. Closing costs can be as low as hundreds of dollars and as high as several thousand dollars. To make sure you'll save money, you have to compare rates, terms, closing fees and points.
Dave Ramsey says: Refinancing home at great rate is worth higher monthly. ... Our current rate is 4.875%, with 28 years remaining on the loan. We found a 15-year refinance at 2.5%, which would raise our monthly payments about $200, but we can handle that.
If you are releasing cash to pay off debts you will need to borrow more than your outstanding mortgage. As your loan will be bigger, so will your repayments. This means you may well be able to pay off your debts, but you are then left with higher remortgage payments.
Is it worth refinancing for 1 percent? Refinancing for a 1 percent lower rate is often worth it. One percent is a significant rate drop, and will generate meaningful monthly savings in most cases. For example, dropping your rate 1 percent — from 3.75% to 2.75% — could save you $250 per month on a $250,000 loan.
Because refinancing involves taking out a new loan with new terms, you're essentially starting over from the beginning. However, you don't have to choose a term based on your original loan's term or the remaining repayment period.
Taking on new debt typically causes your credit score to dip, but because refinancing replaces an existing loan with another of roughly the same amount, its impact on your credit score is minimal.
Most lenders will allow you to roll closing costs into your mortgage when refinancing. Generally, it isn't a question of which lender that may allow you to roll closing costs into the mortgage. It's more so about the type of loan you're getting — purchase or refinance.
As a general rule, it doesn't make sense to refinance a mortgage loan if you're planning to move and sell the home in a couple of years. The reason is that the money you spend up front in closing costs will exceed what little amount you save over the next 24 – 36 months (with the lower rate and payments).
Just like with your original mortgage, the higher your credit score, the better your rate. Most lenders require a credit score of 620 in order to refinance to a conventional loan. If you have a conventional loan, you have to qualify as if you were purchasing the home for the first time.
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