|
Mortgage Refinancing Help: Funds
“If you have equity built up in your home, and you need cash, you have two choices: get a home equity loan or utilize cash-out refinancing. Each has its pros and cons, so be sure to evaluate your situation carefully prior to making a decision.
”
|
| |
Mortgage Refinancing Help
: Business: Investing
: Funds (608)
 These days most people request a Good Faith Estimate (GFE), but have no clue what to look for on the GFE. Make sure you request a GFE that has ALL fees estimated and disclosed. This includes: origination points, processing, lender, appraisal, title, escrow... ALL FEES... especially the Yield Spread Premium or YSP.
 Morningstar »
Investment resource specialized in fund investing. Offers news, commentary, fund information, tutorial, tools and forums. Publishers of annual reports and various books on the subject, and creators of the Morningstar fund ratings.
|
 Investment Company Institute »
News and tutorials covering mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETF), closed-end funds (CEF) and unit investment trusts (UIT).
|
 TrustNet »
Offers information on UK, Hong Kong and offshore investment funds and structured products, including performance data, news and tools.
|
|
|
 If you do not plan on staying in the house very long, refinancing may not be in your best interests.
Many companies in this industry will do what ever they can to get away with charging you as much as they possibly can. Some of the ways they do this is not disclosing all the third party fees involved in a loan such as title insurance, appraisals, pre-paid tax and insurance escrows etc. It is important that you ask the loan officer you're speaking with about third party fees. If you don't they may not tell you and give you a good faith estimate that sounds fair, but at closing you'll find out that you have to pay a couple of thousand dollars more in fees you were unaware of. A good loan officer at a reputable company should have no problem disclosing all fees that pertain to your loan and should also make sure you understand what the fees are for.
Weigh the costs carefully of how long you will be staying in your home vs. how much of a savings you will be getting in a refinance. Make sure you include closing costs in your decision.
Refinancing may not be that useful if you have already used up 90% or more of your home value in taking out a mortgage or any home equity loan. You won't be able to get the best rates available in the market as when you refinance a 90% LTV loan, you will probably require a loan of that value or higher. This will be quite closer to being a 100% financing option and hence mortgage refinance rates will be comparatively higher. Moreover, 100% loans are hardly available in times of mortgage market crisis.
|
|