The largest debt that most people will ever have is a mortgage. The ability to lower this payment and save on interest is an interesting idea but many people have no idea how to go about doing it.
You will find financial advisors everywhere offering you tips on how to lower the cost of a mortgage. You can lower the mortgage costs on your own with a little time and effort. If your financial and credit situations are both in good shape then refinancing might be considered.
If you have a fixed rate loan with the lowest possible rate then there will be no need to refinance now. In most instances this is not the case and refinancing a loan will bring great benefits. Most home buyers experienced some difficulties during the loan process. It could have been not enough of a down payment or a damaged credit score that led to the higher interest rate. If the problems have been resolved with credit then the refinancing will offer some payment relief and the equity in the home could even help in obtaining a lower rate.
Anyone who is not in a fixed rate loan should consider refinancing the mortgage. Your credit score needs to be high enough to qualify for the good rate and your credit history should not show any recent late payments or missed payments.
The best possible interest rate is obtained by having great credit, without it you might be slightly higher than you would prefer. If you have owned the home for some time or have recently updated it with improvements or additions then you have equity in your home that will help in reducing your rate as well. Using the homes equity as a sort of down payment will increase your chances of a better rate even with a slightly lower credit score. If your current loan pay off is $170,000 and your home is appraised at $210,000 then you have $40,000 in equity that can be used towards the refinanced loan.
Just like if you were selling the home you need to stage it properly for the appraiser. The rooms should be free of clutter and well organized. There should be no signs of damage and any projects or repairs that are needed should be attended to before having the appraiser out to your home.
The goal of the appraiser on your part is to get the highest appraisal possibly. The more that you can get appraised for the more they will consider you an investment and the lower the rate. With a lower interest rate you save thousands and thousands of dollars over the lifetime of the loan and hundreds on the monthly payments alone. If you are paying less than you are used to you can easily keep paying the original amount to have more go on principle or even go to a bi-weekly payment plan that will reduce the life of the loan considerably. So aim high when getting that appraisal and make sure everything looks great and complete when they walk through the home.
Graham McKenzie is the content coordinator for a leading South African leading Homeloan and Bond Origination portal which provides access to ABSA Homeloan.
categories: Homeloans,Bonds,Mortgages,Loans,Property,Finance,Personal Finance,Money,Banking
