Mortgage Refinance Info?

RoundRobin

RoundRobin

100+ Posts
I'm clueless about mortgages in general and would like to educate myself before I look to refinance our mortgage. This is for the house my wife and I live in that she owned before we were married.

Any recs on websites or books for general information? Any recs for brokers/lender in Houston?

RR
 
We did a refinance from a 80% 30 year fixed (and 10% 15 year fixed) to a 80% 15 year fixed. We went from 6 3/8% on the 80% 30 year fixed to a 5 1/8% 15 year fixed. We had been paying very aggressively both loans so we were able to do a refi into 1 loan for 80% (as well as our house was appraised for ~10% more than what we paid).

We paid our closing costs in cash (ie, we didn't roll it into the new loan).

Our mortgage broker ran all the numbers with us and basically if you are fairly early into your current loan and can decrease your rate by 1%, doing a refi makes sense. Since we were able to decrease it by 1.25% (not even considering that the 10% loan was at 8%) and made it at 15 year note, it was a no-brainer.

Honestly how many years you are into your current loan, what % the current loan is, what % the new loan is, what type of loan both are (ie, fixed or ARMs) are big considerations.
 
From what my wife tells me* the current mortgage is a 15 yr fixed loan at 7.25%. She did not have the best credit and her boss was kind enough to help her with a down payment and cosign the loan for her. My goal, besides getting a better rate, is to withdraw the equity she has built to repay his loan and remove him from the title.

*All information must be confirmed through the actual documents.

RR
 
I would say that if your credit is good today then this is going to be a good refi opportunity. I believe you can get ~5.5% 15 year note today (ballpark) which is almost 2% lower than what you have. And if that was a 15 year fixed note before, then the good news is 15 year notes are very aggressive on what actually gets put towards principal....
 
She bought the house about six years ago. We're trying our best to pay off as much of the note as possible and fix up the place with the goal of selling and upgrading in about three years.

RR
 
Find out how much of your current payment is going to principal and how much is going to interest. If she is 6 years into a 15 year note AND you have been paying extra it may not be worth refinancing at all if you are selling the home in 3 yrs. Depending on the loan balance you could get a lower rate with a no cost loan. May not be as low as other rates that are available but there would be no fees to make up.

EDIT: Sorry, I skipped over the part where you said you wanted to pull some equity out and remove an ex from title. Still, I'd look at a no cost rate if you are selling in 3 yrs. Its worth running the numbers at least. Lowest rate doesn't always equal best option...
 
Call Brooks Hiller at Heritage Mortgage.

936-258-8040

He can probably help you determine what the best course of action is.
 
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