2011 is rapidly winding down and as 2012 approaches your mortgage refinancing options are better now than they have been in years. The financial meltdown of late created a whole new class of mortgage refinancing called the cash-in refinance. Today, with the newly overhauled HARP program, your options for mortgage refinancing regardless of your financial situation are better than ever. Here’s an article on HSH.com that covers some of the differences in cash-out, cash-in, and rate-and-term mortgage refinancing:
Homeowners have a variety of reasons for refinancing and each reason can indicate that one refinance option or another makes the most sense. Before choosing a new home loan, think about your goals for refinancing. If you want to pay off your loan faster, see if you can afford the payments on a shorter-term loan. If you are focused on reducing your monthly mortgage payments, a lower rate or a longer mortgage term might be a better choice, so check out today’s mortgage rates and use a mortgage calculator to estimate your savings.
http://library.hsh.com/articles/ask-the-expert/what-is-a-rate-and-term-refinance.html
Rate-and-term refinancing is a good option if you want to shorten the term-length of your home loan and take advantage of today’s low mortgage rates from lenders like Amerisave without changing your principle balance. One of the most common mortgage mistakes is neglecting to factor in closing costs in your decision to refinance. Closing costs will make or break your new home loan because you have to recoup these out-of-pocket expenses before benefiting from your lower payment amount.
You can learn more about your mortgage refinancing options, including strategies for avoiding unnecessary fees by checking out my free Underground Mortgage Videos.
My name is Rob Regehr and I’m a personal finance writer with a chip on my shoulder for banks and brokers that take advantage of my friends and neighbors.
