Saturday, February 7, 2009

A Quick Look At Mortgage Refinance

By Ned Dagostino

There are two common situations which lead people to consider refinancing their mortgage. One is to save money by taking advantage of lower interest rates. The other is to manage an unwieldy debt repayment situation. If you are currently looking out to refinance your existing mortgage here are some important points you should consider very carefully.

Maybe you have a number of small monthly repayments and these are becoming increasingly difficult to manage. You can refinance the mortgage and get a loan large enough to pay off all the small debts at once. You can then concentrate on paying a single monthly repayment. This makes things more manageable.

If you're keen on saving money by reducing the interest burden of your current mortgage, then getting a fresh financing scheme may help you save a sizable sum of money. This works if your current mortgage is linked with the variable market rate, the current interest rate is very high and the market trend shows no inclination of climbing down. You can save a lot of money by opting out of your current mortgage and getting it refinanced. The secret is to get a fixed-rate loan with a reasonable interest rate.

Don't get carried away with the idea that refinancing is advisable for all situations, or that it will benefit you at all. There are many situations when refinancing can cost you heavily.

The problem is that when you go to a refinancing agency they fail to mention the actual expenses you will have to incur to refinance your mortgage. Their excuse is that these are 'external' expenses and not their concern. Therefore you may be lulled into believing that the refinance scheme is going to save you a hefty sum over the mortgage period. Too late you find that you have to pay a number of incidental fees, charges and penalties, which can set you back quite a lot, and may nullify the savings you've counted on. There is no point in changing your financier if it is not going to save you any money.

Information is your greatest asset in making up your mind about going in for mortgage refinance. Gather all the data and information you can about the various mortgage refinance schemes on offer. Go online and get the latest market buzz about interest rates and mortgage refinance schemes. Tabulate your findings and make a comparison chart. This will help you in evaluating the best refinance schemes available.

You may not know it, but refinancing may impose certain penalties on you. The previous financier holding your mortgage may impose a penalty to release the mortgage. This could be heavy if you have not anticipated it. The mortgage broker can exact a fee called origination fees or simply as 'points', which could severely affect your savings. Take all these penalties and payments into consideration when computing your expected savings.

Refinancing is advisable if your net savings is significant. If not, you may as well keep the current mortgage going. Don't go in for refinancing if you think you may have to move before the fresh mortgage period has time to play itself out. Such a move will require you to foreclose the fresh mortgage which entails a huge penalty!

Mortgage refinancing is a good way to save money by taking advantage of reduced interest rates. It is also a good way of dealing with a troublesome debt repayment position. But you must be aware of all the costs that are involved. Not knowing the true costs leaves you open to nasty surprises later on. Many people who went in for mortgage refinancing without proper analysis found that they had actually lost money instead of making the savings they had counted on! - 15224

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