Saturday 21 January 2012

Mortgage Refinance: Pros and Cons

Are you considering getting a mortgage refinancing? Here are some of the pros and cons of getting a home loan refinance in today's tough economic times.

Mortgage rates rarely ever stay the same for long. Lately, home loan interest rates are near all time lows. Many homeowners have been looking into refinancing as a way to take advantage of the situation and save them selves money. However, homeowners should always do the proper research before committing to anything and understand both the pros, and the cons, of getting a mortgage refinance.

Some Pros of Mortgage Refinancing.

-Mortgage refinancing is actually an affordable thing for a homeowner to pursue, especially when interest rates are low. Typically, mortgage refinancing expenses total around 2% of the loans total. Most homeowners should be able to cover these expenses within 24 months of getting a mortgage refinancing due to the savings on their monthly home loan payment. Homeowners should contact a potential mortgage lender or bank and ask how much the total refinancing related expenses are and take them into consideration.

-Many homeowners got into their current home with an ARM (adjustable rate mortgage) loan. These loans can be very attractive due to their lower initial interest rates and cost. However, many times, these ARM loans increase their interest rates after a set amount of time. After this time expires, the interest rate can rise, unchecked, and price a homeowner out of being able to make their monthly mortgage payments. Refinancing a mortgage into a stable fixed rate can make payments more affordable and provide assurance that the monthly home loan payments never rise.

-Homeowners with a second mortgage usually pay higher interest rates. Through home refinancing, these 2 loans would be able to be combined into 1 loan with a lower overall interest rate. Many second mortgages even have an ARM loan that can be stabilized through refinancing by combining it with the first mortgage into one fixed rate loan.

Some Cons of Mortgage Refinancing

-Homeowners who have been late of have missed a mortgage payment may not benefit from refinancing right away. These homeowners should do a few months of work on repairing their credit, and home loan, payment history, This credit repair work will help ensure that a homeowner is able to obtain the lowest interest rates possible when getting a mortgage refinancing. Every little bit of interest rate reduction helps a homeowner lower their costs both monthly, and overall. Even improving your credit score slightly may provide big financial benefits when looking into mortgage refinancing.

-Homeowners who are not planning on staying in their current home for much longer may not want to refinance a mortgage. Refinancing has costs and fees associated with it that generally take 2 years to pay off. In order for a homeowner to see real financial benefits from mortgage refinancing they typically need to stay in the home for at least 5 years.

-Some homeowners may need to start paying for private mortgage insurance again depending on the type of mortgage refinancing and amount owed on the loan. Typically, when a home loan is worth more than 80% of a homes value, some type of private mortgage insurance is required. Depending on the mortgage lender or bank, and the situation, many homeowners will need to pay a monthly private mortgage insurance payment every month for a length of time after refinancing a mortgage until they have built up more equity in the home.

Mortgage refinancing is not the answer for everyone, but for many, it will be able to save them a lot of money on their monthly home loan payment. Homeowners should contact a variety of mortgage lenders and banks and ask questions. The more educated a homeowner is about their situation, and what a mortgage refinancing really means for them, the better the outcome will be when committing. Interest rates are low, and millions of people will be able to save over 4% in interest rates. This seems small but adds up to a large amount of money over the course of the home loan. Homeowners should take advantage, get educated, and take action.

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