Refinancing is a great way to lower your mortgage payment if you bought at a higher interest rate than what is currently available. For instance, my husband and I bought our home on a 5 year ARM, which is a loan with a fixed rate for the first 5 years that has a rate that changes once each year for the remaining life of the loan. This loan is great if you plan on moving before your interest rate adjusts, if not, you need to plan on refinancing before the rate changes at the end of your loan term.
We are now on year three of our five-year fixed rate and presently have a good interest rate, but want to lock in our rate while the interest rates are low. I have emailed and spoke with several banks about this, but unfortunately haven’t found the right company to help me yet. I received a phone call from a company the other day explaining the process and suggesting a refinance since the rates are low at this time. Since my husband and I had already talked about this, I agreed to start speak with this gentleman so we could work on getting the refinancing started. We started talking and filling out applications over the phone and needless to say, a few hours later, we were still not done! The process started again the next morning and dragged on through the next morning as well. It took so much of my time and I still don’t have the final information with our new interest rate and the associated fees.
So, I am still thinking refinance, but just don’t have the time to deal with the process right now. Getting a lower, fixed rate is important to us, so I am going to check into Streamline Refinance in order to receive a quick quote by applying online. This will save me time since I can apply without having to speak to a person and be put on hold several times throughout the process. Some salesman can be so pushy that they end up making me feel uncomfortable and “obligated.” I would feel more comfortable receiving an online quote and then calling in to speak with someone when I am ready to continue with the process.
Good luck with your refinance! In the meantime, I’ll look into refinancing my home and check out HGTV for ideas for my newly found money.