When is a good time to refinance? "I have heard that lowering my rate by a minimum of 2% is the only time I should refinance, is this correct", asks one borrower? A good time to refinance depends on your individual situation. Only refinancing when you can lower your rate by at least 2% is an old myth. There are many reasons to refinance your home mortgage loan and many times when refinancing can help you. Talk with a mortgage adviser to see what loan programs are available for you and if refinancing your home would make sense.A good time to refinance is when the interest rates get much lower than when you obtained your home mortgage loan. By refinancing to a much lower rate you can not only save a lot of money from your monthly mortgage payment, but you can also look into cutting your mortgage term down from 30 years to 20 years and still be able to lower your mortgage payment. By lowering your mortgage term you can generally save 10's of thousands, and sometimes 100's of thousands of dollars in mortgage interest alone. Therefore, it is a good idea to pay attention to the interest rates from time to time to see where they are at or check with your personal mortgage representative occasionally to get an update from him/her.
If you are currently paying private mortgage insurance (PMI) and know that your property value has substanially increased, then it would be in your best interest to refinance. With proeprty values increasing, your loan-to-value will be decreasing, which means that a rate and term refinance will eliminate the PMI and start saving you money immediately.
When you need to get cash out of the equity of your home you can refinance to obtain this. Refinancing your mortgage to get cash out can be done as a first mortgage refinance, or the cash out can be obtained by getting a HELOC, a home equity line of credit, or a second mortgage. All options can provide many benefits but you must talk with a licensed mortgage advisor in order to see which option will be ideal for your particular situation.
You may want to consider a refinance if you have some expenses coming up such as:
College tuition
Weddings
Home Improvement
These are just a few reasons why you may need to refinance your current mortgage.
Also, other good reason to refinance is for investment purposes. Consult with your financial planner or accountant to find alternative investment opportunities. You might find a high return on investment might be better suited for you rather than having your home equity accrue with no interest opportunity.
There are so many programs out there today then there used to be that can give the home owner the edge in creating a financial plan for their future. Whether its home improvement, debt consolidation, or lowering the monthly payments for cash flow, or getting equity cash out for other important financial decisions (education, investments, business, medical, etc), a mortgage broker professional can assist you in reviewing these options and what will work best for you.