| |
Mortgage Refinancing Help
: Regional: North America: United States
: California (50,655)
 If your monthly payment on a fixed-rate loan includes escrow amounts for taxes and insurance, your payment each month could change over time due to changes in property taxes, insurance, or community association fees.
 See also:
 State of California »
Official state government site provides information and links for virtually every aspect of the state, including business and agriculture, education, government, health, history, culture and transportation.
|
|
|
 If you are making payments on a long term loan, say, 30 year mortgage for the past 10 to 20 years, then refinancing to another 30 year loan will not be a good option as it may increase your overall payment.
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.
If you know that you will be moving in 3 to 5 years, you might want to consider refinancing to a 3 or 5 year ARM (adjustable rate mortgage). These loans typically have a much lower rate that a traditional fixed rate loan such as a 30 year fixed, but they do have a fixed rate for the first 3 or 5 years of the loan. This will enable you to benefit from the lower rate, but you won't ever have to worry about the risk of a rate adjustment because you will be selling the home before the fixed-rate period ends.
You can ask for a copy of your settlement cost papers (the HUD-1 form) one day in advance of your loan closing. This will give you a chance to review the documents and verify the terms.
|
|
