You might have heard people asking, “Should I refinance my home now?” You might wonder if you should actually think about the same thing yourself. Read on to see if you actually should refinance your home.
First, refinancing your mortgage is process of replacing your existing mortgage loan with an absolutely new one. The new loan may come from either the same company that provided your existing mortgage or a different company. There are a lot of reasons why you should refinance your home. Basically, you will save money and you can pay your mortgage off in a shorter period of time.
If you were stuck with no choice but to get a home mortgage loan that has a high interest rate, now is the best time to have your home mortgage refinanced. Refinancing a mortgage can lower the interest rate that you are paying (since rates are most likely lower now than when you originated your mortgage). This would create a savings for you as the homeowner. However, for you to get the most out of your home refinancing, you should have already decided to stay in the home that you are to refinance for a long time (usually a period of about 3-5 years). Generally, your plan should be to stay in your house long enough to realize the savings that home refinancing ought to offer you, and cover the cost of any fees involved.
When you find yourself thinking, “I should refinance my home,” there are a few things that you should consider. Below is a checklist of the things that you should ask yourself or the mortgage provider if you are decided on getting your home refinanced now.
1. How many years more or how long do you plan to stay in your house?
If this house is one that you are planning to spend the rest of your life in, then refinancing it would make a lot of sense. Otherwise, if you are planning to move out soon, refinancing would just prove to be a waste of money, time, and effort. The average payback period on a home refinance is several years, but depending on the deal you get, it could be shorter or longer. To calculate out your payback period, you just take the closing costs and divide it by the monthly savings. So, if your refinance saves you $200 per month, and the closing costs of your new loan are $2,000, your payback period would be $2,000 / $200 = 10 months.
2. How low will the interest go down to?
If you are paying a significantly high interest rate for your current mortgage (5.5%+), then refinancing could offer a great opportunity to lower it dramatically. Since the main goal that you should look into when you choose to refinance is to lower the interest that you are paying, it would not make sense to get another mortgage without the lowest interest possible. If you can lower the interest rates by at least a percent, then you should consider refinancing.
3. Does your current mortgage have an adjustable rate?
If you have an adjustable rate mortgage, home refinancing is a way to secure a lower monthly mortgage payment. Moreover, it also allows you to have predictable monthly interest rates and payments. As of now, 30-year fixed home mortgage rates are being offered at very low rates. Thus, if you have an adjustable mortgage, although your rate may be low now, you could lock in this low rate for years to come. I doubt that rates will stay this low for the entire term of your mortgage.
If your situation falls under these main considerations when it comes to home refinancing, then you should answer “yes” to the question, “Should I refinance my home now?”
|
Share the Love
|
Get Free Updates
|
This post was written by...
Robert – who has written 317 posts on The College Investor.
Robert is the founder and editor of The College Investor, a personal finance site dedicated to young adult and college student finances. You can learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter or Facebook.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
The real question is, will my bank allow me to refinance? lol From what I am hearing banks are very stringent with refinance loans and anything that deals with them lending out any more cash or extending any repayment period.
Obviously if it makes financial sense then its probably a great time to refinance. If you have a loan from a few years ago that has a much higher interest rate than what they are today, then refinancing might be a wise decision. Its true that banks are making it so much harder to refinance or even get a loan. One of my friends just bought a house and he’s been complaining about all of the requirements just to get the loan. If you don’t have everything in order, your finances, debt ratio or savings, then you might not qualify for a refinance. Having equity in your home will definitely help.. but then again it comes to a numbers game. By refinancing it could cost a few grand, which might not be worth it.
I considered refinancing, but decided the savings was insufficient compared to the costs. Part of the problem is I have a small balance.
Great questions if you want to refinance. If it adds up, should really take advantage of these unbelievable rates!
All good points. Run the numbers & see if it works for you. Rates are at historic lows1
KrantCents, we had a low amount left on our mortgage & were able to refinance by taking “cash out” to finance the purchase of our van. It was all rolled into one loan. We needed the truck anyway & it as cheaper overall to do it this way than to take a car loan just for the van. It also changed the # of years left on the mortgage from 8 to 10, but we came out ahead. Some might frown on that, but the rest of our finances were sound.