• Team Sisters
  • Raving Fans
  • Around Town
  • News you can USE!
  • Timely Advise
  • Buyers
  • Sellers
  • Property Search
  • What’s My Home Worth

Team Sisters

~ Your Home Town Realtors in La & Ms

Team Sisters

Tag Archives: Refinance mortgage

Reduce Refinancing Costs

27 Monday Aug 2018

Posted by Make your Home your Haven! in News you can USE!, Timely Advise

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

mortgage fees, mortgage rates, mortgage requirements, Mortgages, Refinance mortgage

There is much more than a lower rate and payment to determine whether to refinance a mortgage.  Lenders try to make refinancing as attractive as possible by rolling the closing costs into the new mortgage so there isn’t any out of pocket cash required.

The closing costs associated with a new loan could add several thousand dollars to your mortgage balance.  The following suggestions may help you to reduce the expense to refinance.

?         Tell the lender up-front that you want to have the loan quoted with minimal closing costs.

?         Check with your existing lender to see if the rate and closing costs might be cheaper. 

?         Shop around with other lenders and compare rate and closing costs.

?         If you’re refinancing an FHA or VA loan, consider the streamline refinance.

?         Credit unions may have lower closing costs because they are generally loaning deposits and their cost of funds is less.

?         Reducing the loan-to-value so mortgage insurance is not required will reduce expenses and lower the payment.

?         Ask if the lender can use an AVM, automated valuation model, instead of an appraisal.

?         You may not need a new survey if no changes have been made.

?         There may be a discount on the mortgagee’s title policy available on a refinance.

?         Points on refinancing, unlike a purchase, are ratably deductible over the life of the loan ($3,000 in points on a 30-year loan would result in a $100 tax deduction each year.)

?         Consider a 15-year loan.  If you can afford the higher payments, you can expect a lower interest rate than a 30-year loan and obviously, it will build equity faster and pay off in half the time.

A lender must provide you a list of the fees involved with making the loan within 3 days of making a loan application in the form of aLoan Estimate and a Closing Disclosure Form.  Every dollar counts, and they belong to you.

Share this:

  • Share
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

It Isn’t Final Until It’s Funded

28 Monday Nov 2016

Posted by Make your Home your Haven! in Helpful Information, News you can USE!

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

conventional mortgage, entertainment, FHA mortgage, home loans, interest rates 2016, mortgage qualifications, Mortgages, Refinance mortgage, Today's Mortgage Rates

Mortgage approval isn’t final until it’s funded.  Things can change prior to the loan being closed that can affect a pre-approval such as changes in the borrowers’ financial situation or possibly, factors beyond their control like interest rate changes.40783733-250.jpg

Good advice to buyers is to do nothing that can affect your credit report until the loan closes. Opening new credit cards, taking on new debt for a car or furniture or changing jobs could affect the lender’s decision if they believe you may no longer be able to repay the loan.

The benefits of buyer’s pre-approval are definitive: it saves time, money and removes the uncertainty of knowing whether the buyer is qualified. The direct benefits include:

  • Amount the buyer can borrow – decreases as interest rates rise
  • Looking at “Right” homes – price, size, amenities, location
  • Find the best loan – rate, term, type
  • Uncover credit issues early – time to cure possible problems
  • Bargaining power – price, terms, & timing
  • Close quicker – verifications have been made

It is a very common practice for mortgage lenders to require income and bank verifications and to re-run the borrowers’ credit one final time just prior to closing. Mortgage approval isn’t final until it’s funded.

Share this:

  • Share
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Reducing Interest Expense

07 Wednesday Jan 2015

Posted by Make your Home your Haven! in News you can USE!

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Home Ownership Tax Benefits, mortgage qualifications, Refinance mortgage, tax relief

Debt Free Home.png

0% financing has induced car buyers into taking the plunge because it doesn’t cost anything to use someone else’s money.  While mortgage rates are not at zero, they’re close enough that many buyers are applying similar logic.

Qualified mortgage interest is deductible on taxpayers’ returns subject to the maximum acquisition debt of one million dollars.  For the fortunate homeowners who have paid off their mortgage, their acquisition debt was reduced to zero and only the interest on a maximum home equity debt of $100,000 is deductible.

If you have to pay interest, deductible interest is preferable because it reduces your actual cost.

Consider the following example of a taxpayer with a $500,000 debt-free home.  If they did an 80% cash-out refinance of $400,000, $100,000 would be considered home equity debt and the interest on that would be deductible on their income tax.  The other $300,000 of debt is considered personal debt and the interest is not deductible.

However, because the rates are currently so low, the loss of deductibility of the interest doesn’t have as much impact as if the rates were higher.  The key is to have a good purpose for the money that would offset the actual cost of the interest.

Paying off a higher rate debt such as credit cards, student loans, possibly, business debt could all have significantly higher interest rates.  Refinancing a home and eliminating debts like these could be a big savings.

All lenders are not the same.  Call for a recommendation of a trusted mortgage professional.

Share this:

  • Share
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 905 other subscribers

Realtor®

Real Agency Brokerage
855.450.0442 Office
225.933.7062 Mobile janicedubois@gmail.com www.teamsistersbr.net www.janicedubois.com
147 Del Norte Ave.
DenhamSprings, La. 7-726
e-Pro, SRS, ABR, CRS
Team Sisters
Broker Wendy Leblanc
License # 0995682454 ...
Agent license # 71854 In the state of Louisiana by LREC& Mississippi
Each Office Interdependently Owned and Operated | EBR, Livingston and Ascension Parishes and MS. SW Counties
The Greatest Compliment I can Receive is a Referral from my Clients, Family, and Friends! - Thank You

Categories

Recent Posts

  • Will the Housing Market Crash?
  • What can you do with your Home Equity?
  • Renting vs Buying a Home
  • How To Make Your Dream of Homeownership a Reality
  • Why Today’s Housing Market Isn’t Headed for a Crash

Blogroll

  • Best Real Estate Blog 0

Archives

Latest Tweets

  • Do you have Real Estate Questions? roomvu.com/ask-me-anythin…Pressed 5 days ago
  • Will the Housing Market Crash? batonrougehousehunters.com/2023/03/21/wil…Pressed 6 days ago
  • Just posted a photo instagram.com/p/Cp0XubUOG2m/…Pressed 1 week ago
  • What can you do with your Home Equity? batonrougehousehunters.com/2023/03/15/wha…Pressed 1 week ago
  • Just posted a photo instagram.com/p/Cpx_1HdufIp2…Pressed 1 week ago
  • Just posted a photo instagram.com/p/CpsiLKQOBM4B…Pressed 2 weeks ago
  • Just posted a photo instagram.com/p/Cph_dlvOOLzj…Pressed 2 weeks ago

Start a Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • Team Sisters
    • Join 34 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Team Sisters
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
%d bloggers like this: