≡ Menu
arrow

Got a Home Loan in Virginia?
Get Low Refinance Rates From Just 2.12%.

Cash Out Mortgage Refinancing

Are you considering cashing out equity in your home when refinancing your mortgage?

Your home can be an excellent source of cash if you’re willing to give up some of your hard-earned equity in exchange for liquidity.

Cash out mortgage refinancing is one way to get your hands on cash for everything from consolidating bills, home improvement, even paying for college. Here are several tips to help you get the most for your hard-earned equity when cash out mortgage refinancing.

Cash Out Refinancing: What You Need to Know

Taking cash back when refinancing your mortgage is simply borrowing more than you owe on your existing home loan and pocketing the cash. Take the money and run right? If you’ve had your existing mortgage for a while the principle balance is probably much lower than it was when you purchased your home. Provided your home’s value hasn’t dropped significantly due to the faltering economy your build up of equity allows you to refinance and take cash back at closing.

Suppose for example you owe $110,000 on a $300,000 home and want to take back $25,000 in cash to build an addition to your home. You could refinance your existing home loan for $135,000 and walk away from closing with $25,000 cash in your pocket.

Since it’s your money you can use the cash for anything: home improvement, purchasing a second home, paying college tuition, consolidating higher interest debt like credit cards, anything really. Mortgage interest rates are at historically low levels right now and because of the market lenders are desperate to deal. Keep in mind that refinancing with cash back is different from taking out a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). Home equity lines tend to be more expensive and often carry higher interest rates than if you had refinanced with cash back.

How Much Cash Can You Take Out Refinancing?

Usually, you’re allowed to refinance up to 80% of your home’s value. Some lenders may allow you to borrow more; however, you may be required to purchase Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI), or settle for a higher mortgage rate. You can avoid Private Mortgage Insurance by opting for a Home Equity Line of Credit; however, this is usually a more expensive option than cash out mortgage refinancing.

Refinancing your mortgage is generally a good idea when current mortgage rates are lower than your existing home loan. Cash back refinancing is one reason for taking a higher mortgage rate…if you need the cash you may be able to justify the higher monthly payment. Keep in mind that cash out mortgage refinancing is not without risks; you are giving up a portion of your equity and with declining property values there is a chance you could end up underwater in the new mortgage loan.

Cash Out Refinancing Pitfalls

There are a number of problems with cash out refinancing that can result in overpaying thousands of dollars every year that you’re in your mortgage loan. Because you’ll likely end up with a higher monthly payment than you’re used to when taking cash back you have to be careful to avoid anything that could potentially raise your payment on top of this. What raises your mortgage payment unnecessarily? Yield Spread Premium…the commission paid by the lender for locking and closing your loan with a higher than necessary mortgage rate.

Mortgage brokers earn their commission from two sources. They can charge you an origination fee for their part in arranging your home loan and they can take a commission from the lender in the form of Yield Spread Premium. It is possible to cash out refinance your home paying only a flat one percent origination fee without Yield Spread Premium if you follow the guidelines in my Underground Mortgage Videos; however, most homeowners pay much more than this.

How does the commission from Yield Spread Premium drive up your mortgage payment unnecessarily? First of all, for every .25 percent that the mortgage broker overcharges you the lender pays a commission of 1.0 percent. It’s not uncommon to find mortgages done with .75 percent or higher markup on the mortgage rate. In fact, you’re probably paying this much on your existing home loan now.

Here’s an example to illustrate why you need to avoid Yield Spread Premium when cash out mortgage refinancing. Suppose you owe $200,000 on your existing mortgage and your home is worth $350,000. You’ve decided to cash out refinance $50,000, making the balance of your new loan $250,000. Your mortgage broker tells you that you qualify for an interest rate of 6.5 percent and charges you an origination fee of 2.0 percent.

First of all, had you watched my Underground Mortgage Videos you could have paid a flat 1.0 percent origination fee and saved yourself $2,500 right off the bat…but what about that mortgage rate? What your broker isn’t telling you is that you actually qualified for 5.75 percent mortgage loan; however, they’ve marked your rate up to get a 3.0 percent commission from the lender. This three percent is in addition to the 2.0 percent origination fee that you’re already overpaying. In this transaction your mortgage broker walks away with $12,500 for their part in arranging your lemon of home loan…now let’s take a look at what you got stuck with shall we?

You already know that you paid $2,500 too much for the origination fee but what about that 3.0 percent Yield Spread Premium? At 6.5 percent your monthly payment on a thirty year fixed rate mortgage will be $1,580. If you had gotten the mortgage rate you deserve at 5.75 percent your payment would only be $1,450! In addition to the $2,500 you overpaid for loan origination you’re throwing away $1,560 every year that you keep this loan!

Can you now see how people get screwed over on their mortgage loans and why the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development said homeowners in the United States will overpay sixteen billion dollars for their home loans this year alone?

Now that you know how people get ripped off refinancing their mortgage loans what can you do to make sure you’re not a victim of this unnecessary mortgage rate markup? Register today for my Underground Mortgage Videos and you’ll discover how to get the best deal for your next mortgage loan without markup or junk fees.

{ 1 comment… add one }
  • Philip McManigal June 30, 2009, 4:59 am

    we are paying 1900.00 per month on an interest only loan. we would like to lower that to 1300.00 or less per month. Is this possible?

Leave a Comment