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3 reasons you shouldn't refinance

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    3 reasons you shouldn't refinance

    Here's help deciding if and when you should make this mortgage move.

    By MSN Real Estate partner 17 hours ago July 1, 2014

    By AJ Smith, Credit.com

    Calculating how much house you can afford is, for many of us, one of the toughest decisions we face in adulthood. How we finance that home can be just as challenging. In an ideal world, we would get it right the first time. But refinancing offers a chance to do it again — in many cases to lower the interest rate or payments, or to shorten the term.

    While there is potential to save, refinancing is a complicated process and not the right decision for everyone.
    Check out why now may not be the time for you to refinance your home.

    1. You don't plan to stay long

    It's a good idea to figure out how long you plan to stay in your home and be honest with this prediction. If you hope to be moving before the "break-even" period, or number of months it will take to make up the costs of closing a new loan, refinancing is not for you. It’s best to run the numbers on a refinance and determine what the break-even point will be for you. Then you can compare this with your current life plans. Things may change but if you are pretty sure you will be moving soon, refinancing may cost you more than it will save you.

    2. The long-term costs are too high

    If your budget is tight right now, it can be very tempting to lower a monthly fixed payment like your mortgage. But while refinancing to lower your monthly payments seems great, it can hurt you in the long run. Extending the length of your loan may free up more cash in your monthly budget but it can also lead to you paying more for your home in terms of interest.

    On the other side, refinancing to shorten the mortgage length can help you pay off your home faster but isn't smart if it increases your monthly payments to more than you can comfortably afford. Be sure to calculate the long-term cost of a new mortgage and focus on more than just the monthly costs before making a final decision.

    3. You can't afford the closing costs

    Refinancing always has a price tag — either through closing costs or a higher interest rate moving forward. While some lenders allow closing costs to roll into the loan, this just means you are paying even more interest for the same principal you were already paying off. If you cannot afford to pay the closing costs upfront, refinancing probably isn’t for you.

    Replacing an existing loan with a new one can be beneficial, but clearly involves its drawbacks as well. Refinancing can cost between 3 percent and 6 percent of the loan's principal and a headache-inducing amount of paperwork. The best way to decide whether to refinance your home is figuring out how much you will save and how much the process will cost in fees.

    It's important to remember that when you refinance your mortgage, you will have your credit scores checked by the lender.

    "To go bravely forward is to invite a miracle."

    "Worry is the darkroom where negatives are formed."

    #2
    Well thought out article.
    Golden Jubilee was a year-long celebration held every 50 years in which all bondmen were freed, mortgaged lands were restored to the original owners, and land was left fallow: Lev. 25:8-17

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      #3
      Just to add to it in some states when one refinances the creditor can sue after foreclosure yet if the original purchase loan were left in place the creditor could only recover the property. Recourse vs non-recourse. I am not sure what rule it is but that little spoken of topic seems to always be left out of the info around the decision to refinance.
      11/23/'10-filed ch 13. 1/6/'11-341, confirmed. Below median. Plan completed 11/30/2015. DISSCHARGED 4/4/2016.JP

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        #4
        Is Arizona one of those States?
        Golden Jubilee was a year-long celebration held every 50 years in which all bondmen were freed, mortgaged lands were restored to the original owners, and land was left fallow: Lev. 25:8-17

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by BigJohn View Post
          Is Arizona one of those States?
          According to some quick internet research, refinancing in AZ won't make a non-recourse mortgage into a recourse mortgage as long as it isn't a cash-out refinance. The new mortgage must be used only to pay off the original mortgage and fees and costs of the refi.




          ETA: The same is true in California: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/fa...01120120SB1069
          LadyInTheRed is in the black!
          Filed Chap 13 April 2010. Discharged May 2015.
          $143,000 in debt discharged for $36,500, including attorneys fees. Money well spent!

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