Do You Need a Mortgage Refinance Loan?
If your interest rate is higher than normal, it is a good idea to refinance your loan. A lower interest rate can make your monthly payment lower and easier to manage. If you are having financial difficulties, this can be especially helpful. If your finances are pretty steady, then you may be able to get a shorter-term loan when you refinance so your loan will be paid off much sooner. This is great if you are planning to stay in your home for the rest of your life or for longer than the length of the loan. If you are planning to move within ten years, then a shorter-term loan will most likely not be as important to you as a lower payment would be.
If you are in need of some money to pay off credit cards, make needed home repairs, or even to take a vacation, then you might want to consider refinancing your home. You first need to find out if you have any equity built up in your home. Equity is the value of your home versus the amount that you own on your house. Let us say that your home is now worth $125,000 ten years after you purchased it and you owe your lender $95,000. The equity that you have is $30,000. You can borrow up to $125,000 against your home and can use the $30,000 equity for repairs, bills, or anything else. You need to decide if your intended use is worth you refinancing your loan for 15 years or more. The good thing about home loans is that they are tax-deductible in most cases, so this may be a good benefit for you.
Refinancing will mean that in most cases you are starting your payment term all over again. This is something that you need to keep in mind before signing on the dotted line. You need to know all of your options before you decide that this is your only option. Home loan refinancing is a big business and many companies will offer you the moon to get you to refinance. You need to take into account the closing costs and fees of the loan to ensure that it is a right choice for you.
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By: Jas
Benefits of Cashout Refinance
No matter how good our intentions are, with the “Gotta Have It!” society we live in, even the most diligent of us sometimes over-do on debt, especially on credit cards or other non- appreciable debt in the form of installment loans. One popular and beneficial way to wipe the slate clean, or at least get a handle on high debt, is through a “Cash-out Refinance”.
If you have Equity in your house (that is if the appraised value is larger than the amount currently owed on your Mortgage Loan), you can access that money and put it to work for you. Instead of continuing to pay on those high interest credit cards and never seeming to make a dent in the balance, the cash out can help you “start fresh”, and, depending on your area, your home appreciation could grow faster than your cash out!
Some of the benefits of replacing credit card and revolving debt with mortgage debt are:
· Paying off high interest loans (credit cards) with a much lower interest loan, showing less outstanding loans on your credit and a less number of payments at bill time.
· Lowering your monthly net out-go, freeing up cash for everyday expenses or to ad more to the Principle portion of your Mortgage loan. I’ve had examples of homeowners restructuring their current home loans to pay off debt, saving $500 or more per month, which was applied back to Principle, carving 5 or more years off the length of the home loan…which leads to the next benefit…
· Term Reduction with a totally new loan, you have the opportunity of re-structuring with a shorter term directly OR indirectly, as shown above, by taking monthly savings of money not now needed on credit cards and applying the money to your loan, shortening your term.
· Payment Deferral when refinancing, you usually end up skipping a payment, sometimes two, in the lender switch. That can add up to a substantial amount that could be reapplied to your home loan or more pressing necessities.
· Raising Credit Scores, Mortgage loans are looked at more favorably than credit cards, especially when your balances on those credit cards exceed 35-50% of the maximum balance allowed. By paying off these loans, credit scores go up naturally when the companies report their information (usually in 3 month intervals).
· Increasing Tax Advantages. Currently you receive no tax benefit for that payment you’re paying on those credit cards; but when that same debt is transferred to a mortgage loan, you receive a tax advantage on interest paid on that loan. For example, let’s say you’re in a 30 % tax bracket. For every $10,000 spent on interest on your home loan in that year, you could receive a $3000 deduction!
These are only few of the benefits to refinancing for debt consolidation.
There are some precautions, though, that MUST be recognized or you’ll find yourself even deeper in debt. When strategies of this nature are utilized to “pull out of debt”, one must go into such a strategy with just that mindset. If a cash out refinance is handled to clear off credit cards, only to max those cards again, the process can catch up to you. Most lenders view credit reports for just such patterns before approving a loan. Discipline is key. Be careful to follow through on your long-term plan to control your debt so it doesn’t control you, and your decision to refinance with cash out can be a smart move.
Two Interesting notes:
· If you pay only the minimum payment stated on your revolving credit card, in the average case, it can take up to 30 years or more to pay off the balance of $5000. Most mortgages are refinanced every 5 years or less on average, due to increased home value, or moving.
· When lowering your monthly out-go, it’s interesting to see what % of an increase that affords you with your current income. As little as $400 savings per month that you get to keep can mean a substantial “raise” you can give yourself…and you pay no more taxes on it!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Tamara Schmitt is currently a Loan Officer with 1st United Mortgage. Tamara is also an Business Partner of Get Loans Cheap, an internet business geared solely to educate and aid the consumer in assessing and obtaining the right loan for their specific needs. View the site for more articles on mortgages and refinancing, or other home loan needs.
By: Get Loans Cheap
Features of the Fha 203k Streamline Refinance Loan
The FHA 203k Streamline program has gained popularity recently because of the amount of foreclosed homes that are being purchased are in need of repair. The FHA 203k streamline program can be utilized both as a FHA refinancing option as well as a FHA new home purchase option.
An increasing number of foreclosed homes are using the popular FHA 203k streamline program due these homes needing repair. It is available for either a new home purchase or a refinance.
The FHA 203k Streamline is a different from the standard Section 203k loan due to it only permitting repairs costing a minimum of $5,000 up to a maximum of $35,000. Thus, the total mortgage loan will permit for property acquisition with up to $35,000 of the loan proceeds to be applied toward repairs or property rehab.
Some of the more common repairs completed using the FHA 203k Streamline program include:
• Repair rain gutters and downspouts
• Repair/upgrade of existing HVAC systems
• Minor repairs of plumbing and electrical systems
• Minor repairs of existing flooring
• Minor remodeling that does not involve structural repairs
• Exterior and interior painting
• New appliances – items such as free-standing ranges, refrigerators, washers/dryers, dishwashers and microwaves but may not be greater than $2,000
• Improvements for people with disabilities/handicaps
• In addition to the FHA 203k streamline program, there is a FHA 203k standard program — which will allow more than $35,000 to be used in repairs but requires more “major” work.
The FHA 203k standard includes work such as Structural improvements including room additions, re-wiring, major landscape work, patios, decks, terraces, energy conservation improvements, steel insulated exterior doors, rehab or improvement of a detached garage..
Some highlights of the loan include:
The borrower is allowed to finance six months of payments into the loan
Up to six percent of seller contributions are allowed on purchase loans.
As you can see these are some very attractive loans for homebuyers as well as existing homeowners when a property needs a little rehab.
By: Mario Olivera