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.
Generally, a refinance is worthwhile if you'll be in the home long enough to reach the “break-even point” — the date at which your savings outweigh the closing costs you paid to refinance your loan. For example, let's say you'll save $200 per month by refinancing, and your closing costs will come in around $4,000.
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.
Saving $100 per month, it would take you 40 months — more than 3 years — to recoup your closing costs. So a refinance might be worth it if you plan to stay in the home for 4 years or more. But if not, refinancing would likely cost you more than you'd save. ... Negotiate with your lender a no closing cost refinance.
Con: You'll reduce your home equity and, because you'll reset your loan term, you'll pay more in total interest. Find out what your closing costs will be if you refinance, and factor those into your break-even point—the time it will take you to recover the money it costs to refinance.
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.
Refinancing doesn't reset the repayment term of your loan, but it does replace your current loan with a new loan. You may be able to choose from different offers for your new loan depending on your goals, including a longer or shorter repayment term.
Mortgage Refinance
Refinancing your mortgage loan will usually cause your monthly payments to change – sometimes, by a lot. In some cases, your monthly housing bill will actually go down, like if you refinanced to a lower interest rate or a longer loan term.
For debtors struggling to pay off their loans, refinancing can also be used to get a longer term loan with lower monthly payments. In these cases, the total amount paid will increase, as interest will have to be paid for a longer period of time.
The mortgage rates trend continued to decline until rates dropped to 3.31% in November 2012 — the lowest level in the history of mortgage rates.
The average 30-year fixed mortgage interest rate is 3.25%, which is a decline of 9 basis points compared to one week ago. ... You won't be able to pay off your house as quickly and you'll pay more interest over time, but a 30-year fixed mortgage is a good option if you're looking to minimize your monthly payment.
Generally, the cost of a mortgage point is $1,000 for every $100,000 of your loan (or 1% of your total mortgage amount). Each point you purchase lowers your APR by 0.25%. For example, if your rate is 4% and you buy one point, your APR rate would go down to 3.75% for the life of the loan.
Yet No Comments