Reminder **Mortgage Rates are way low ** Not an Ad, just a reminder

[Cr0nJ0b]

Hey,

I hope i don't get burned for this post. I'm just one of those people that doesn't often watch the mortgage rates from month to month, so I would find this kind of reminder helpful...and it's a pretty hot deal for qualifying homeowners.

as an example, I was on a 30yr fixed at 3.875%, conforming...which I thought was really good. I just locked today at 3.47% with no costs or fees (so everything baked into the loan). Basically, I'm just dropping my payment and stretching the loan out a year. For me that's really good money.

Again, I apologize if this doesn't fit the hot deals standard...but I figured that there would be some homeowners that could benefit from a simple reminder.

I used Bankrate to start the hunt and then checked with a few brokers i know.

I have no visibility to where the rates will go in the future, but if they keep dropping, I'll keep refinancing.

Moved from Hot Deals as there is no specific product being sold, but the reminder is timely for anyone thinking about refinancing or who may not have thought of it before and might now.
Admin allisolm

 

[MrWizzard]

Mortgage rates have been low for the last 20 years.

It's all about perspective. Most people here are too young to remember the Jimmy Carter years where rates where at 20% and people had 5 mortgages.

People think the sky is falling when the rates are at 8%….not too bad I say. Yes you can get them lower but if you look how bad it was at one time.

 

[Leymenaide]

Forgiven,
Just had friends get 3.5 for 30.

 

[Hmongkeysauce]

Amazing how rates dropped so quick. I closed one month ago at 3.75% with a small lender's rebate.

 

[gevorg]

FYI: Just because the current mortgage rate is lower than the rate you have on your mortgage, doesn't necessarily mean that you should refinance. So do the math, and compare the old vs new amortization tables to decide on best action.

 

[jrichrds]

Any tips for a 1st time California homebuyer on how to approach mortgage shopping?

 

[Dizzymon]

Just had my friend do my refi a 2nd time on a small home loan. went from 4.375% to 3.25%

 

[mshan]

"Any tips for a 1st time California homebuyer on how to approach mortgage shopping?"

http://www.amazon.com/Mortgage-Ripof...carolyn+warren

http://www.amazon.com/Homebuyers-Bew...carolyn+warren

 

[kmmatney]

I've been thinking about a refinance, but I've been paying a lot extra on my current 5 3/8% mortgage, so I'm not it would help me out. With my current fixed loan, the payment is the same every month, but the proportion of interest versus principal get recalculated on ech payment. By paying extra, the amount I pay in interest is lower than it should be, so I'm "effectively" paying less interest and it gets lower with each payment.

So far, I haven't found a good tool out there to tell me a ReFi is worth it or not. Sure, I can get my payment lowered, but it will also change the proportion of principal versus interest, and I might pay more in the long run.

I can see how refinancing would be good if you want to just lower your payment.

 

[mmntech]

Mortgage rates may be low but housing prices here have been skyrocketing. $200k for a 600sq ft condo is now considered low end.

 

[KeithTalent]

Mortgage rates may be low but housing prices here have been skyrocketing. $200k for a 600sq ft condo is now considered low end.

You can't even get a place that size in the ghetto around here for that price!

KT

 

[jagec]

I've been thinking about a refinance, but I've been paying a lot extra on my current 5 3/8% mortgage, so I'm not it would help me out. With my current fixed loan, the payment is the same every month, but the proportion of interest versus principal get recalculated on ech payment. By paying extra, the amount I pay in interest is lower than it should be, so I'm "effectively" paying less interest and it gets lower with each payment.

So far, I haven't found a good tool out there to tell me a ReFi is worth it or not. Sure, I can get my payment lowered, but it will also change the proportion of principal versus interest, and I might pay more in the long run.

Paying extra reduces the principal, and therefore the TOTAL interest paid over the life of the loan, but you're still getting charged the full 5 3/8%-ish a year on the reduced principal. If you can qualify for the 3.5-ish rates that people are getting these days, you'll save TONS of money on interest over the life of the loan. Particularly if you don't change the amount that you pay out every month. Basically, by paying extra you're turning your 5.375%, 30-year mortgage into a 5.375%, 20-year mortgage (say). If you refinance, you could get a 3%, 15-year mortgage, which depending on how long you've been in the house may well have a LOWER payment currently, and staggeringly less interest. If you continue to make additional payments, you could turn that into a 3%, 10-year mortgage. I'd have to run the numbers, and it depends on how much you have left on the mortgage, your current payment, and how much extra you have been paying, but it's hard for me to imagine a scenario where you wouldn't benefit.

Try this calculator. It's simple, and doesn't take extra payments into account, but I think that you'll find that with your rate, savings are practically guaranteed.

 

[luv2liv]

and remember, if you fix up an old house... dont get laminate for flooring!!!
i just fixed up a house and decided to get laminate flooring.
1 month later, water damage in the living room. oh man, theres a bulge on the floor now and i have no idea who dropped water without me knowing.

 

[soulcougher73]

Low rates
High house prices

Take your pick

 

[mazeroth]

For people in the midwest that have Union Savings Banks around them you can get killer mortgage and refi rates with super low closing costs. I just refied for the third time with them to a 15yr 3.0%. I had about $360 in total fees. That included appraisal and title work.

 

[Bignate603]

We just bought a house, 3.5% on a 30 year mortgage. Great rate, and coupled with a the low home prices we were able to get a much nicer home for the same amount of money (both monthly, and over the life of the loan).

 

[MustISO]

We have a rather high rate right now and would like to refinance but we're in the process of paying off our 30 year in 15 so we'd have to go back to interest heavy loan where as now it's probably 1/2 interest and 1/2 principal. I'd really need someone to work out the numbers but it seems like we should just stay with our current rate (5.3%) and just keep putting extra to principal to pay it off early. I suppose if we went with a 15 year loan we could reduce our payment, put more toward principal and be okay but I hate going back to paying more interest if we don't need to.

 

[mazeroth]

We have a rather high rate right now and would like to refinance but we're in the process of paying off our 30 year in 15 so we'd have to go back to interest heavy loan where as now it's probably 1/2 interest and 1/2 principal. I'd really need someone to work out the numbers but it seems like we should just stay with our current rate (5.3%) and just keep putting extra to principal to pay it off early. I suppose if we went with a 15 year loan we could reduce our payment, put more toward principal and be okay but I hate going back to paying more interest if we don't need to.

Dude, refi. It's simple. Lower interest rate = less you pay in interest and more you pay towards principal. If you'd like, PM me your mortgage details including the state you live in and roughly what your closing costs will be to refinance. I can run some numbers to show you how much you'll be saving each month.

 

[OCGuy]

Yes they are, if you are in CA I can help

 

[Doppel]

I am 4.875 now. Credit score is excellent but not enough equity in house for a refi right now (ltv about 90%) so i cannot take advantage of these low rates

 

[dullard]

We have a rather high rate right now and would like to refinance but we're in the process of paying off our 30 year in 15 so we'd have to go back to interest heavy loan where as now it's probably 1/2 interest and 1/2 principal. I'd really need someone to work out the numbers but it seems like we should just stay with our current rate (5.3%) and just keep putting extra to principal to pay it off early. I suppose if we went with a 15 year loan we could reduce our payment, put more toward principal and be okay but I hate going back to paying more interest if we don't need to.

Is 3% lower than 5.3%? If you can answer that, then you know what loan will pay less interest.

There is no such thing as "go back to interest heavy loan". You pay interest on the remaining balance, not on the original balance. Do you want to pay 5.3% on what you owe now or 3%?

A refinance is a good idea if the savings outweigh the refinance costs. Plain and simple. Suppose you owe $100,000 in principal. Then you'll be paying about $5300 in interest on your existing loan vs $3000 on a refinace loan in the next year. That $2300 in savings is probably around what a refinance would cost. So, in this case, refinance if you will be in that house for more than a year. After that point, you'll save hundreds or thousands of dollars a year for the life of the loan. If you owe more than $100k, then your savings will be even greater.

Don't refinance if you plan on selling soon though.

 

[OCGuy]

I am 4.875 now. Credit score is excellent but not enough equity in house for a refi right now (ltv about 90%) so i cannot take advantage of these low rates

I am doing loans for people in the 80-95% range all day with single premium LPMI. Yes your rate is tad higher than those without needing the LPMI, but who cares?

The floodgates are open, and I cant get out of work before 8PM most nights. On the bright side me and the lady (department manager) are socking away some coin.

 

[RaistlinZ]

Would it be worth refinancing if I'm at 4.25% now?

 

[dullard]

Would it be worth refinancing if I'm at 4.25% now?

Still depends on how long you stay there and what your refinancing costs are. Expect to save about $1000 a year for every $100,000 you owe. Compare that savings to the cost of refinancing. If you move prior to making that money back, don't do it. If you plan to stay several years, then do it.

 

[kevman]

15 year is at a 2.875% right now. AMAZING!