doopstr

Seems rates are falling. I'm at a 30yr 5.87% maybe time for me to do it.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081218/...ncial_meltdown

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

We have thought about it. I have a friend of a friend who does mortgages and claims she can refinance us for under 5%. We are at 5.25% now... so if that is true it may be something we look into. Depends not only what they can give us... but what kind of incentives they'd give us towards closing costs...

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

Not refinancing but we are considering dumping our current home to get out and get into a new home with a lower mortgage.

And when I say "dumping" I mean selling for a lot less than we are currently asking, not walking away.

MisterLinus

Hopefully you can sell it enough as to not wipe out your equity and cover the remaining balance of your loan.

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

Equity in home? We bought in 04 and are selling now so no, we'll be lucky to sell for what we paid in 04.

HE? Hell yeah, we've paid down the mortgage significantly and put a hefty down payment so that's not an issue.

Joe5.0

I bought in 06 for 30yr 6.5%, but since I am negative in the house (little down and huge downturn in the market, like 25%) I would have to come up with a ton of cash to refi, and why put $30k into something that continues to lose $$?

Sarlacc

We are 6.4 and have had 4.8 as an option to us for a week...we missed an hour window yesterday where it hit 4.5.

My wife's cousin does this for a living and we told her next time it hits that low and she cant reach us to go ahead and lock it.

Moog-Type-S

I have 5.3% 30yr from back in 2003 when I re-fi'd.

Thinking about re-fi again...4.5% is looking tempting.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

^

I need to find a good mortgage broker. The banks are still a rip-off...

doopstr

Anyone know a good broker in NJ?

moeronn

Just keep in mind that to get rates anywhere near that low you are going to be paying quite a bit in points and/or fees. I'm still looking around, but so far I haven't found a way to do a no cost + no fee refi and lower my rate below the current 5.875%
You could try Phil2, though he's in upstate NY.

einsatz

I've got a 7yr ARM at 4.875% that pops up in late 2011. I'm thinking of re-fi'ing to a 30yr...
I will be moving out next year, but with the prices the way they are, I may just rent it out for a few more years. I live next to Ft. Belvoir, and the BRAC will send a few thousand more ppl down to these parts, so I'm guessing when that comes into effect in 2011 the demand for my property will go up. Perhaps that'll be a good time to sell, but I don't wanna risk the ARM increase rate catching me by surprise!

moeronn

FWIW, these two places (along with some others) seem to get pretty good reviews on the FatWallet finacial forums:

https://www.penfed.org/productsAndRa...tesListing.asp

http://www.aimloan.com/

Both of these sites give you rate and closing costs without calling or entering any personal info.

Stay away from Quicken Loans.

Will Y.

I'm at 5.125% on a 20-year (15 years left), and BofA over in Playa Vista thought I could get a no-points 4.8 for 15 years through the Private Banking group- unadvertised rate; BofA keeps the paper.

We're exchanging VM at this point-- maybe the rates will drop before I lock.

wndrlst

I was forced to refi last January thanks to the divorce. I'm at 5 3/8 for 30 - would it be worth it to start over again with my amortization? I don't want to keep paying interest forever and ever and ever...

Will Y.

If the rates are low enough, you can shorten the term while paying the same monthly amount- that's how we ended up with a 20-year loan, when we started with a 30-year. We got a lower monthly payment as well, without paying points.

It's worth making a phone call to your banker or mortgage broker.

Bearcat94

Refi? Soon.


What Will Y is suggesting is exactly what we're considering - similar payment + lower rate on a shorter term.

wndrlst

That sounds delightful, actually...I'll check into it. Thanks!

moeronn

^^ Before you make any moves, you need to consider how long you'll be there (or keep the property). Just factor in any points or fees into your calculations. It usually takes at least a couple of years to break even.

Dan

Doing a single family rental. 6.8% to 5.2% and pulling out 50K.

moeronn

Bump -

Are points paid when refinancing treated any differently than points paid when purchasing a property WRT deductions? I read somewhere that points on refis are deductable over the life of the loan - which makes little sense and makes it even less appealling to pay any points.

MR1

true that, afaik

anarchy[sear]

iTrader: (1)

At my work our 30 years fixed just dropped to about 4.625% 5/1 Arms are at 4.5%. So if anybody needed to save money refinancing during this time at a fixed rate would be key.

Moog-Type-S

^^ 4.6% with points?

moeronn

Rates just shot up today. And those rates have to have points and fees.

What are the total closing costs for a $500k loan?

anarchy[sear]

iTrader: (1)

Well the 30 year fixed on a conforming loan is 5.125% if you want to buy down 2 points it is 4.625% We are also running a Home Loan special on conforming loans as well for 20 year fixed at 4.99% thats with no points.

moeronn

^^ Just be careful you don't turn into Special-Ed.

anarchy[sear]

iTrader: (1)

^^^No saba senor? Not sure if its a joke are an actual member.

moeronn

Both.

He's a life insurance pedler who kept advertizing his poducts/services.

anarchy[sear]

iTrader: (1)

Ohhh I see well I am not here to offer services just giving people an idea of where home loans and rates are at right now. All this stuff is all public information any ways at most of peoples banks and credit union.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

Hang tight. Most analysts and insiders are predicting rates will continue to drop into 2009.

Find a broker you like/trust, get approved, and give them a rate to lock in for you. Example, tell them... as soon as rates hit 4.5% with no points, lock it in for me. Then they can stress and you can relax

Scrib

Just pulled the trigger on a 20yr at 4.75, no points. I'll pay it like a 15 yr and be debt free by 46.

doopstr

What kind of docs do you need to provide for a refi? Is it like a regular mortgage where you need like 3 years of tax returns, 3 months bank statements, etc?

doopstr

Also, assuming 0 points, what kind of closing fees would I be looking at?

DAROCK

<--- 30 year fixed at 4.75% with 1 point buydown refi .

moeronn

Nice... Unless you move and start over

Pretty much the same, except they may be able to waive the appraisal if their online toolsgive you a favorable evaluation.

If you look around, you should be able to keep the fees under $3k. Keep in mind that the $3k doesn't include prepaid interest, property tax or escrow deposits. So, you might be looking at ~$5k out of pocket to close. This is why I prefer no cost loans. You still have the prepaids, but they are things you need to pay whether you refi or not.

Sounds about right for now. Have you locked it in?

DAROCK

yes. For me it comes to about $300/month savings and the cost of the refinance I can make it back in less than 2 years.

Will Y.

BofA's person told me to hold off- the rates moved up a smidge, and she thought rates would be dropping in a month or two.
Either that or she has too many loans in process right now...

einsatz

So I've been shopping around. My credit union offered 4.875% + about $2500 in closing costs. Wells Fargo offers 5.625% with no points or closing costs. My monthly mortgage payment goes down by $10 with the CU, and up by about $15 with WF. I plan to be here no more than 3 years, so the WF offer sounds better.

My question is - would it be more advantageous for me to sell a home paying a 4.875% fixed versus a 5.625 % fixed when selling in 3yrs? I don't think it would have any bearing but if paying less than 3k now will help me down the road somehow, it may be worth it.

jlukja

Your mortgage rate has no bearing on the sale of your home (unless you have a really low rate which is assumable). If you're selling in 36 months you would only save $360 in monthly payments with your CU, not worth the $2500 in closing costs. I vote you just keep the loan you have.


BTW, we're refinincing and have locked in 4.75% with one point. Countrywide also has a one-time rate float down in case the rates fall further.