Are you considering mortgage refinancing to take advantage of rates from today’s best lenders like Amerisave and Quicken Mortgage? Discount points could sour the deal you’re getting on your mortgage refi by elevating your out-of-pocket expenses unnecessarily. Here’s an article from the NY Times you’ll want to read to avoid overpaying points on your next home loan:
WITH interest rates at or near record lows, many borrowers are seeing little reason to pay points when buying or refinancing a home. Some are even opting for what’s known as “negative points,” agreeing to a slightly higher rate to help pay closing costs.
Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/realestate/mortgages-points-lose-favor.html
Remember the closing costs, including the loan origination fee and any points decide how good of a deal you’re getting when refinancing. The reason fees are so important is that if you’re unable to break even recouping these out-of-pocket expenses before you sell or take out another mortgage you’ll be losing money no matter how low your refinance rates.
With mortgage rates hovering near sixty-year lows discount points are a relic of times past when rates were much higher. Homeowners would pay the fee to buy down their interest rate and payment amount, something that simply doesn’t make sense in today’s market.
You can learn more about getting today’s lowest refinance rates without paying 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.
