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Friday, December 19, 2008

Should You Go For A Mortgage Refinance?

By Ned Dagostino

Mortgage refinance is an option most house owners look at from time to time. The big question they ask themselves is: Should I? Well, that depends on the particulars of the case. Generally people go in for mortgage refinance either to save money on the interest they pay, or to consolidate sundry debts. The crucial factors that merit consideration when deciding the 'Should I?' question are noted below for your information.

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.

You may have gone in for a variable rate mortgage plan when the interest rates were low. The interest rate in this plan is linked to the market rate. If there is a rising trend in the market rate which is not likely to abate, you may well change your mortgage to a fixed-rate plan in which the interest rate is equal to or less than the current 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.

Refinancing is not as sweet as it looks. There are a number of fees that have to be paid for refinancing the mortgage which are not disclosed to you. It's only after you have gone too far into the deal to turn back that you are made aware of these hidden charges. Be persistent in finding out all the nitty-gritty details about these hidden fees from people who have already taken a refinance. Deduct these fees from the total savings you expect to make. If the money saved is reduced to an insignificant amount, you might as well stay with your current plan.

Refinancing your mortgage is a serious financial decision. Therefore you should perform a due diligence market survey before taking up a refinance option. Find out the various plans and schemes offered by various companies in your locality and online. Carefully weigh the pros and cons of these schemes and tabulate your results for easy analysis.

Find out all the penalties and fees that refinancing companies may extract from you upfront. For example, there is an origination fee or points, which is taken before the refinance plan becomes operational. There might be a plan where the interest rate is slightly higher but you don't have to pay origination fee. This may turn out to be better for you.

Refinancing will be beneficial for you if you are able to save more than you spend on all the fees and penalties involved in refinancing. One very important factor that you must consider is whether there are chances of your moving out before the refinanced mortgage expires. If there are good chances of your moving out soon, then, far from saving you money, the refinance is going to cost you a packet!

Refinancing your mortgage is a good way to save money by opting for a lower interest rate regimen. It is also a good way of consolidating your debts. But that is not be construed as a clean chit for every situation. Refinance has to be debated on a case by case basis according to the particulars of the situation. So what works for Bob may not work for Bill. The most important thing is to perform an exhaustive market survey before going in for refinance. Be very careful in computing the refinancing costs. Ask other people who have taken this route about their experiences and seek their advice. Be wary of hidden charges. These surprise charges may make the difference between saving $10,000 and paying out $500!

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