Posts Tagged ‘ refinance ’

Refinancing With Declining Home Values

Guest Post

The criteria for refinancing a mortgage through a traditional lender typically require some degree of equity in the property. At the very least, homeowners should not owe more than the home’s value in order to qualify for the best refinance rates.

After the housing market crashed in 2008-09, many homeowners found themselves struggling to refinance their mortgages in light of sinking home values and disappearing equity. However, there is hope for refinancing even for borrowers underwater with their current mortgage.

Home Affordable Refinance Program

Read more »

Why Paying Down Your Mortgage is More Important Than Ever

By Kevin M

What’s old is new again—there is risk in carrying a mortgage on your home! The foreclosure wave and forced short sales of the past few years have shown that paying down—and ultimately paying off—your mortgage isn’t just desirable, but perhaps even a completely necessary step toward securing you financial future.

The risk of not paying off your mortgage

The people who are in the biggest hole right now aren’t the ones who’s property values dropped so much as the ones where the value dropped below the amount of the mortgage securing the property.

Let’s say we have two neighbors, each owning a near identical home worth $200,000. Home Owner A has a $50,000 mortgage on his home, while Home Owner B owes $180,000. A recession hits, bringing a 25% drop in home values, and lowers the value of each home owners property to $150,000.

Read more »

Is Now a Good Time to Refinance?

By Kevin M

Rates for fixed rate mortgages are below 5% for a 30 year loan, and down close to 4% for 15 year loans. So is now a good time to refinance? Maybe. And only maybe.

If you have an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM), a funky ALT-A, a variable home equity line of credit that can be consolidated, or most definitely a sub-prime deal, refinancing is a no-brainer. You’ll probably get better terms and a much better rate, so do it and don’t delay. No one ever needed a six month, interest-only ARM with negative amortization in the first place!

It’s not all about rate!

Read more »


Follow Me On:
Subscribe RSSFollow me on Twitter


Financial Management

Budgeting

Personal Budget

Enter your email address for FREE Updates:

Delivered by FeedBurner



I'm on Money Index


Page Rank Check