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Mortgage Refinancing Help
: Business: Financial Services
: Appraisal and Valuation (4)
 Resist "no cost" refinancing. No cost doesn't mean free. On the contrary: The closing costs are usually bundled into the new mortgage, which means you pay interest on them. The fees associated with a 30-year mortgage could cost you more than double what they would have had you simply written a check for them at closing. Or, if the costs aren't bundled in, you'll be charged a slightly higher interest rate. Either way, the lender wins.
 See also:
 Appraisers National Association (ANA) »
Nonprofit professional group dedicated to personal property appraisals; includes details on membership, educational opportunities, events, and links.
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 Amerival »
Provides valuations of real estate, personal property, equipment and personalities to businesses and individuals in and around Tom River, NJ; includes profile, staff biographies, testimonials, and newsletter.
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 Valuation Specialists »
Appraisal and consulting firm provides details on business, machinery and equipment, and real property appraisals in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
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 The Antique Appraiser »
Independent certified appraiser of antiques and collectibles. Claudia Miller, ASA accredited, AAA certified, and USPAP certified.
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 Stick with a simple loan. It is easier to understand and less likely to get you into trouble. Adjustable-rate mortgages may seem like a way to get a bigger house now or to keep more money now, but when the rates adjust you can get into trouble. Avoid anything with a balloon payment. Just choose a simple 30-year mortgage you can easily afford.
Make sure that your original mortgage does not have a pre-payment penalty or early payoff penalty of any kind. Sometimes people will get into their mortgage with the mortgage having a pre-payment penalty and they will not even know about it. Pre-payment penalties usually range from 6 months to 3 years with a penalty for an early payoff. The penalty is usually about the amount of 6 months worth of your mortgage loan interest, but this varies. You would have to be able to have some significant payment and interest savings on your refinance loan to justify refinancing a mortgage loan with a pre-payment penalty.
The length of time that you expect to keep the mortgage helps you determine whether it is worthwhile to pay points up front to reduce your interest rate. Unlike points paid on your original mortgage, points paid to refinance may not be fully deductible on your income taxes in the year they are paid.
Before you refinance a loan, make sure that you carefully analyze any fees that your lender is including on the loan. The Department of Housing and Urban Development can provide you with a list of standard fees. Use it to make sure that your lender isn't tacking on anything extravagant. And by all means, compare their fees with other lenders in the market.
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