5 Refinancing Tips
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Refinancing can provide you with many financial benefits; however, you will want to investigate all your options carefully before leaping into the process. Below are five tips to help you determine when and if refinancing is right for you:
1. Know Your Goal
Before you can make a wise decision, you need to clarify for yourself exactly what you want to accomplish by refinancing. Are you looking to save money monthly or consolidate debt? Are you planning on doing home improvements? Remember that certain mortgage options are better for achieving certain goals.
2. Make Sure the Benefits Outweigh the Costs
Obviously, refinancing is going to cost you some money upfront. You need to ensure that what you are getting from refinancing is worth the costs associated with the process. When refinancing to save money, you will want to make your closing costs back in less than three years. Also, if refinancing to do home improvements, find out if the improvements are going to improve your property value enough to make the work financially valuable.
3. Make Sure You Don’t Have a Prepayment Penalty (PPP)
Before spending money on a refinance loan, double check that your first mortgage does not have a prepayment penalty that could cost you several thousands of dollars on top of the closing costs of your new mortgage. If you do, in fact, have a prepayment penalty, you will most likely want to wait until the PPP term expires.
4. Take the Rate that Fits
Ask yourself one important question before refinancing: how long are you planning on staying in your current home? If you are going to sell your home in two years, it does not benefit you to take the most expensive mortgage, i.e. the thirty-year fixed. Remember, there are many low risk alternatives available to meet almost any objective.
5. The Right to Rescind
You have three days from closing to evaluate your new loan. If you decide that the loan is not desirable, you have the right to cancel it by faxing a simple form to your new lender. Then, you simply resume payments on your existing mortgage.
Refinancing is a tricky process, but keeping these tips in mind should prevent you from making a bad decision.