Yes, I did it. Several weeks ago I pulled the trigger and refinanced our home mortgage. Our previous mortgage was only 5 years old (fixed, 30 yr), but with a discount for refinancing with the same lender, and with interest rates at that time at historic lows, I went for it. At the same time, I rolled over my Home Equity loan (which was at 6.8%), so now I only have one loan. I ended up with a 4.75% fixed rate for 30 years. By doing so, my cash flow increased by almost $300 a month. I am putting an extra $110 a month toward the mortgage (should decrease the loan length by about 7 years and save me $33,000 in interest), putting another $125 a month toward my emergency fund, and the rest is helping to ease some budgets that weren’t quite working out.
One big diference between now and five years ago is how much they are checking everything. Last time, I don’t think they checked anything! This time, everything got checked, which is the way it should be. Some good news for me is that my appriasal came in very strong – our house is still worth a lot more than what we paid for it five years ago, so I am thankful for that.
What stories do you have out there about refinancing, good or bad?
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Good work — these low interest rates are an amazing opportunity for homeowners. Alas I’m still waiting for house prices to fall further before buying. With rates like this around, you have to wonder if they will go much lower though.
Thanks. It’s a wild market right now with rates. I keep checking – one week they are up, next they are down. Seems to be no rhyme or reason. I decided to pull the trigger in part because I was concerned that house prices might continue to dive and I wanted to make sure my equity was strong. Good luck are your house buying!
I meant, good luck on your house buying!