Mortgage & Refinancing Information


Home Mortgages: Up, Up and Away!


Refinance NOW-before it's too late

If you haven't found the time to refinance your existing home mortgage, it's time to take action-like yesterday! Every time Alan Greenspan, Federal Reserve Board Chairman, opens his mouth, you can bet that the federal funds rates will rise by at least a quarter of a point, or by 25 basis points in investorese. What that means to you is that home mortgages will rocket as well.

A quarter of a percentage point may not seem like much, given that the federal funds rate currently stands at 2 ¾ per cent, but a reality check quickly reveals that you, personally, have probably never seen 2 ¾ per cent interest on anything in your lifetime. Take a look at your credit card statements. Are you paying 2 ¾ per cent on your credit? What about your home mortgage? Without getting technical, there's little correlation between the federal funds rate and home mortgage rates except the direction in which they travel, and right now that direction is headed to the sky.

You've already missed the opportunity of a lifetime to lock in the lowest rates you'll see for the foreseeable future, but you have a little more time to get your hands on relatively cheap money. The window of opportunity is rapidly closing, so if you're going to refinance, you must do it as soon as possible.

Things you may not know about refinancing:

A small rate cut can pay off handsomely in smaller monthly mortgage payments.

Smaller monthly mortgage payments will decrease your tax deduction, because you will no longer be paying as much interest as you've been paying. Factor this in, because it's the total savings that matters.

You can and should ask to have fees waived or reduced: application fees, origination fees, appraisal fees, legal fees, points, and closing costs.

If you don't have cash on hand to pay fees, you can get them tacked on to the mortgage, paying nothing out of pocket for your refinanced home mortgage.

If you refinance and shorten the term of a home mortgage, you will pay a higher monthly payment, but you'll save a significant amount of money over the term of the mortgage in addition to paying off your home and building equity faster.

Standard mortgage terms run 15 years or 30 years. If you'd prefer a term somewhere in between the standard terms, ask for a custom loan and designate a term that works better for you. Find a term that strikes a balance between a term shorter than 30 years and monthly payments lower than those of a 15-year mortgage.

If you cannot get a custom term, settle for a 30-year mortgage and pay more than the monthly payment to pay off the loan sooner. You must also negotiate no pre-payment penalty.

Where to go from here

1. Review your credit record with each of the three credit bureaus: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. Mistakes are common in credit reports, and you may be surprised at what you find: accounts that do not belong to you, balances that do not match your statements, an identity mistake or worse. Correct any bad information.

2. Compare mortgage rates and fees online among several finance companies.

3. Use a good mortgage calculator. Using refinance calculators is the only way to determine which loan is the better all-around deal.

Work fast, but negotiate hard to make a deal that works for you. The loan company wants your business as badly as you want a better rate.

M J Plaster is a successful author who provides information on home loans and home equity loans. M J Plaster has been a commercial freelance writer for almost two decades, most recently specializing in home and garden, the low-carb lifestyle, investing, and anything that defines la dolce vita.


MORE RESOURCES:

Neon Tommy

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WASHINGTON – President Obama is rallying support for his plan to expand government assistance to homeowners, pressuring Congress to help lower lending rates for millions of strapped homeowners. Obama, in his radio and Internet address Saturday, ...
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MonitorBankRates.com

Mortgage Refinance Rates: 15 Year Refinance Mortgage Rates at 3.29%
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Mortgage refinance rates on 30 year conforming home loans are averaging 3.98%, unchanged from yesterday's average 30 year mortgage refinance rate. Mortgage refinance rates today on 15 year home mortgage loans are averaging 3.29%, down from yesterday's ...

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International Business Times

Obama Proposes Mortgage-Refinance Plan
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By NICK TIMIRAOS President Barack Obama called on Congress during Tuesday's State of the Union address to approve new legislation that would give all homeowners who are current on their mortgages the opportunity to refinance at record low mortgage ...
Will Obama's Mortgage Refinance Plan Be D.O.A.?U.S. News & World Report
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Housing Wire

President Obama's Mortgage Refinance Plan Just a Bid for Votes
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By Mark Wise By Mark Wise | Yahoo! Contributor Network – 12 hrs ago This story comes from the Yahoo! Contributor Network, where individuals publish their unique perspectives on some of the world's most popular websites.
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Obama Unveils Mortgage Refinance Endeavors
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by MortgageOrb.com on Wednesday 01 February 2012 The Obama administration has presented the mortgage refinancing plan that was first announced during the president's State of the Union speech on Jan. 24. According to a statement released by the White ...

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Living large? Get the best rate on your jumbo mortgage refinance
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If you buy apparel from "big and tall" clothing stores, you're used to paying more and having less to choose from. "Regular guys," on the other hand, benefit from a wider selection of products and more competition between retailers.

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High Volume Stock Movers: Bank of America, Sprint, Cisco, Annaly, Sirius Feb. 8th
Wall St. Cheat Sheet
By Derek Hoffman Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC): The US's Home Affordable Refinance Program has increased mortgage refinance applications and strained capacity at Bank of America, leading the bank to ask some customers to wait 60 to 90 days, ...



New HARP Could Help Up to 6.7 Million
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Other changes to the program were designed to make it easier for homeowners with private mortgage insurance (PMI) to refinance or to obtain a HARP mortgage refinance with a lender other than their current mortgage servicer. In addition, new limits were ...

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AgedLeadStore.com to Add 1100000 Aged Mortgage Refinance Leads
Middle East North Africa Financial Network
COM, January 26, 2012 ) Baltimore, MD AgedLeadStore.com is increasing its value for its customers by adding 1.1 million aged Mortgage Refinance Leads in February. This is important as many people depend upon their ability to refinance to make progress ...



GlobeSt.com

1 M-SF Marathon Oil Tower Management Assignment Goes to CBRE
GlobeSt.com
That same year, the owner obtained a $75 million mortgage refinance to help convert a series of subleases in the building at 5555 San Felipe to direct leases. The money has been used to help fund some capital improvements in the 1980s building as well.

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