Tuesday, January 15, 2013

REFINANCE Your Home??

Mortgage Rates.., they go up down up down...will they go lower? Lock in now or later...My husband and I have refinanced twice already!!

I have always heard that you should refinance if the difference in your current rate and the new rate is more than 1%. Also if you are in a 30 year and a change to a 20 or 15 year is nominal/affordable, then go for it.

Take a look at your finances, if you can afford to pay a little more towards your mortgage, refinancing might be for you. There are a few mortgage calculators out there that can be helpful.

http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/mortgages/mortgage-calculator.aspx
http://www.mortgagecalculator.org

According to Yahoo Homes, there are four reasons why you should refinance in 2013:

1-  Interest Rates are Expected to Rise
"I think most economists would agree that the Fed has been suppressing rates artificially for some time to try to stimulate the economy. But I think interest rates will go up in 2013 and beyond," says Chris L. Boulter, president of Val-Chris Investments, Inc., a California company specializing in residential and commercial loans.

2- The Government's Financial Involvement Will Eventually EndSince the recession in 2008, the government has been trying to stimulate the economy with its quantitative expansion policy, which has helped the housing market, stimulated the economy, and kept interest rates at historic lows. But this won't last forever. In fact, Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, which sets U.S. monetary policy, said in December 2012 that there will be two factors that mark the end of the government's intervention: the unemployment rate and the inflation rate of the dollar.

3- Because Your Rate Could Adjust Up (if You have an ARM)
"And with rates at historic lows, I advise anyone who can refinance to a fixed rate now to do it because there is nowhere for rates to go but up, " says Duffy.

 4-  Because You Could Afford a Shorter-Term Loan
If you can pay $705 more per month, it might be a good investment since that will save you over $110,000 in interest over the life of the loan. Oh, and you'll own your home 15 years earlier, too. With this plan, 2013 is always looking better than 2012, isn't it?

Do yourself a favor and at least investigate whether or not refinancing is the right thing for you to do. If not, well then you don't need to stress about it anymore. 

But if so, then Yippee LivE Wisely!!


2 comments:

Sara said...

In the past 2-3 years refinancing has gained immense popularity. This situation will even continue in 2013 as it is expected that the rates will remain low this year as well. Thus, there are a large number of people who will be interested in refinancing the existing mortgages at a lower rate and reduce their monthly mortgage payments. It is better to refinance the mortgage in 2013 as there are expectation that the mortgage interest rates will start rising by the end of 2013 and the start of 2014. In order to refinance the mortgage, you should meet all the required criteria of the lender. Also, refinancing will be fruitful if you could stay in the property for more than 2 years as it will help you in offsetting your closing costs.

Unknown said...

Thank you Sara! Comments always appreciated.

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