Is Mortgage Refinancing Right for You?

These days, it’s hard not to be enticed by the historically low mortgage refinancing rates. Now could be the perfect time to refinance, but is refinancing your loan right for you? Here are a few points to take into consideration if you’re thinking about refinancing your home loan.

The Benefits of Refinancing

Beyond potentially saving you thousands of dollars, refinancing your mortgage can also help you consolidate debt and pay off other bills. Your life has probably changed from the time you first got your home loan. Perhaps you got a better paying job or you have a new baby on the way. You may have new expenses that never existed before, or you may be making more money than when you started. In many cases, refinancing your home loan could save you hundreds, or even thousands of dollars – money which could be well spent in other areas of your life. Ideally, your mortgage should not be costing you above one third of your total gross income. If you’re dealing with a high interest rate, you’ve been hit with an adjustable rate that has skyrocketed, or you’ve experienced a drop in income for whatever reason – it’s a good idea to consider refinancing and locking in a better rate.

Working with a Trusted Lender

Working with a trusted lender is one of the best decisions you can make when you decide to refinance. Trusted lenders, like Aurora Bank (Equal Housing Lender, member FDIC) for example, understand a multitude of product options and can explain those options to you as well as the costs that are involved in the refinancing process.

Know Your Options

There’s no shortage of lending companies vying for your business. But it pays to do your own research as well.Take advantage of online mortgage calculators and run different scenarios based on your income, property tax, and extra payments you can afford to make.See exactly how much home you can afford and create a spectrum of possibilities for refinancing. Then, speak with a home loan consultant who can help you with your financing needs.You may be pleasantly surprised at just how much money you’ll save by refinancing at today’s low rates. Overall, honest, exceptional service and a dedication to customer satisfaction are what make the best mortgage refinancing lenders stand out.

Author: Jess Hall writes out of Jersey City about different personal finance opportunities, including the advantages of refinancing from an online bank like Aurora Bank.Always looking for a trusted financial institution for advice and tips she tends to look up information at http://www.peoplepond.com/aurora-bank more often than not.

A Reverse Mortgage For Your Retirement Years

Many older Americans retire each year and have no adequate resources from which to draw funds to pay for medical care or simply to make ends meet. These retirees may have thought they had planned well for their golden years only to find that their savings were not nearly enough. Health care is so costly and most retirees cannot afford the additional costs of home care or residency in a nursing home. In some cases, it may just be having enough money to pay the normal living expenses that keep rising. This is probably why reverse mortgages are growing in popularity.

These reverse mortgages or also known as home equity conversion mortgages are seen as an alternative financial source to be used along with federal programs like Medicare and Medicaid to help pay the escalating costs of medical care. These types of mortgage plans can be used by senior citizens to help pay common monthly expenses as well as health care and even be used to pay for luxuries like vacations or new cars.

The reverse mortgages are backed by the FHA and the HUD and these federally backed mortgage programs are tax free. Although most people who take a reverse mortgage are over sixty-two, the money they receive from it does not affect the amount of their benefits from SSI or Medicare.

The payments on a reverse mortgage are made to the homeowner instead of the homeowner having to make the payments. Reverse mortgages do not have to be repaid until the recipient dies or moves into a nursing home. At that time the home may be sold to recover some of the money. Even if the recipient has been paid payments, which have amounted to more than the value of the home the selling price will not exceed the value of the home. As long as the recipient remains in good health and continues to reside in the house the payments will keep coming to them.

A senior citizen who is looking into the reverse mortgage plan as a way to obtain assistance in their finances after retirement should examine every other option before making a final decision. The reverse mortgage can be a genuine source of relief for someone who is no longer in the workforce and has few other ways to get funds to cover a medical emergency or any other type of sudden need.

A retired person will usually have their home paid for and the equity that is available is what the reverse mortgage is based on. The money, which is paid to them in equal monthly payments, can be used for whatever purpose they need it for. Home health care, prescriptions, doctor bills, or transportation to therapy sessions; all of these are reasons to seek more funding.

The cost of almost everything is increasing on a yearly and sometimes monthly basis, so it is very important to find resources to help finance our daily lives. The amount of income that might have been sufficient ten years ago will definitely not be nearly enough in another two years. The benefits from a reverse mortgage can be used to pay off an existing mortgage, some other loan, or any other outstanding debt. Home improvement projects and improvements in the home for their safety are good reasons to consider a reverse mortgage.

About the Author

Joe Kenny writes for the UK loan and mortgage search portal, www.glitec.org. The site offers mortgages, www.glitec.org/mortgages/ or US residents visit rebuild for mortgages, www.rebuild.org/mortgages.html

Home Loans And Home Refinance Options

Many different mortgage products make for a diversity of home loan and home refinance options. For you as a consumer faced with making this important life decision, it helps to know what the basic options are so that you can evaluate which product suits your needs most closely.

Options In Home Loans

The available home loan products are basically the same as the options in refinance home loans. Whether for a first mortgage or third refinancing, the interest rates and terms that are offered stay the same. The factors that determine your offer are the same, too, including

• Loan to home value (in the case of refinance mortgage rates and terms, the equity available in your home)
• Credit score and history
• Debt to income ratios
• Income

Based on these factors, you will be offered different mortgage products with varying rates and terms. These are outlined following.

Fixed Rate Home Loans And Refinance Home Loans

Fixed rate home loans and refinance home loans have one interest rate that stays the same and never changes for the life of the loan; that is, until the loan is either repaid or refinanced into a different loan. Fixed rate mortgage rates and refinance mortgage rates are generally a little higher than the introductory rate on an adjustable rate loan, but are far more stable and predictable, and still reasonably based on current rates. Fixed rate loans are the most common and secure types of loans, and are usually recommended for people who plan to be in their home for some time.

The major difference in fixed rate refinance and home loans is the term; the loan will usually be either 15 or 30 years, although there are also some 10 and 20 year options and some newer 40 year fixed rate mortgage terms coming on the market.

Adjustable Rate Loans And Home Refinance Options

An adjustable rate loan is another of the home mortgage and home refinance options. This type of loan has a fixed rate for just a limited amount of time—normally one, three, or five years. After that fixed rate expires, the rate adjusts according to the schedule set forth in the original mortgage (for example, every six or twelve months). The new rate is determined by the current mortgage rate market; it could be higher or lower.

Adjustable rate refinance mortgage rates are less appealing because they are less stable. When corrections are made, the mortgage payment may increase significantly. The mortgage payment is only predictable during the fixed-rate term.

Although less secure than fixed rate mortgages, there are good reasons to use an adjustable rate mortgage, or ARM. ARM's are cheaper during the adjustable period, and so can be more affordable if you do not plan to stay in your home for a long period of time. ARM's also give you time to enjoy a low payment while you build your credit rating to qualify for a better fixed rate mortgage.

Evaluating Your Mortgage And Home Refinancing Value

The only real way to evaluate your mortgage and home refinancing value is to talk to reputable lenders, get quotes, and compare them against your budget and future plans. There is no right or wrong mortgage product, as all situations are different. Find a trustworthy lender and she will help you determine what the loan and home refinancing value really is for you given the options that are open to you.

Nationwide Home Loan Options

One thing you should know before you choose that lender is that you have a whole nation of products and options at your disposal. With modern technology, you can just as easily take advantage of the great rates a Colorado refinance loan offers as any other. If you do your research and find that that Colorado refinance loan is most beneficial, and that you feel most secure with that lender, then by all means that is the lender and product you should choose. Location is no indication of where the best mortgage and refinance mortgage rates will be.