Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 11:21 am Post subject: Should I refinance now? Or wait...
On my house, I currently have a ARM at 5.25% that expires in November 2010. The loan amount on the ARM is 154k and I have been paying on this for five years so far. I also have a 30k Home Equity line on the home at approx 4%, but that one is a moving target.
With the craziness in the market, does it make sense to refinance both loans under a fixed mortgage, even if the rate is at 5.75 (approx). I would likely do a 25 year mortgage on the total amount of approx 185k.
I live in the Charlotte NC area and the market here is stable...the house has appreciated at about 5% a year since we bought it. Is this a wise move to refinance now?
If the ARM rate will "expires in November 2010" then why are you willing to refinance the mortgage now? Can you get lower interest rate?
Now if you get a better rate and term then you can refinance but I would suggest you not to refinance now as I think you cannot get lower interest rate than your present rate. Interest rate of 30 year FRM is now 5.80 percent and interest rate of 15 year FRM is now 5.39 percent. Again you will have to pay the prepayment penalty if you refinance the mortgage now. So I think you should wait a bit before going for refinance.
Feel free to ask if you have any further questions.
Thanks for the reply Larry. THe reason I was thinking about locking into a fixed now was because I suspected we may not see rates in this range for a while. So in the next year or two if they were higher than 6% or so, I would be kicking yslef for now locking in now.
If you are comfortable with refinance. Consult with your lender and see if he can approve you for an affordable rate and term. You can even shop around for lenders for refinancing your mortgage. _________________ Good is the Enemy of Great.
To the TS, how you handle the current situation is ultimately up to you- this you know, I'm sure. Noone can give you a definitve answer about timing on refinancing the existing ARM you're in because noone know where the market will be 6, 12, 18 mths down the line. Bottom line is this- you know what's available now. If you decide to wait, you're basically rolling the dice. Historically rates are still very low- will they go down? Perhaps but, even if they did, probably not by much. In my opinion, they are mcuh more likely to stay the same or go up as we move forward but this is just my .02
Even I agree with you. it is up to the original poster when he find it comfortable to refinance. The rates are still quite low. So it is a good time to change your ARM into 30 year FRM.
So the original poster, have you shop for lenders or consulted with your lender? Has approved you for refinance? Do you need to pay the prepayment penalty? Some times if you refinance the mortgage with your present lender he may not ask you for the prepayment penalty.
lrlima
