Are You Considering Re-Financing?Homeowners who are thinking about re-financing their home may have a great amount of options available to them. However, these same homeowners may find themselves feeling overwhelmed by this great amount of opportunities. This process doesn’t have to be so troublesome though. Homeowners can greatly help themselves in the process by taking a few simple steps. First the homeowner should establish his refinancing goals. Next the homeowner should consult with a re-financing expert and finally the homeowner should understand that re-financing is not always the best resolution.
Conclude Your Goals for Re-Financing
The primary step in any re-financing process should be for the homeowner to establish his goals and also decide why he is considering re-financing. There are many different answers to this question and none of them are necessarily right or wrong. The most critical thing is that the homeowner is making a decision that will drive them towards their financial goals. Although there are no right or wrong answers as to why re-financing is the right choice there are, however, some reasons for re-financing which are very common. These reasons include:
* Lessening monthly mortgage payments * Consolidating existing debts * Lowering the amount of interest paid over the course of the loan * Paying back the loan quicker * Gaining equity quicker
The reader may find their mortgage re-financing plan fits into one of the above goals or there may be a very different reason for wanting to re-finance. The reason for wanting to re-finance is not as significant as determining this reason. This is because a homeowner, or even a financial advisor, will have a hard time figuring out the best re-financing option for a homeowner if the goals of the homeowner are not known.
Confer with a Re-Financing Expert
Once a homeowner has figured out why they want to re-finance, the homeowner should think about meeting with a re-financing expert to determine the best refinancing plan. This will likely be a strategy which is financially sound but is also still geared to meeting the needs of the homeowner.
Homeowners who feel as though they are especially well learned in the field of re-financing might consider neglecting the option of consulting with a re-financing expert. However, this is not suggested because even the most learned homeowner may not be aware of the newest re-financing options being offered by lenders.
While not knowing about all the options may not seem too bad, it can have a noticeable impact. Homeowners may not even be aware of mistakes they are making until they hear of friends who re-financed under similar conditions and received more promising terms. Hearing these scenarios can be quite off-putting for some homeowners especially if they could have saved considerably more while re-financing.
Contemplate Not Re-Financing as a Possible Option
Homeowners who are considering re-financing may realize the significance of evaluating various different re-financing options to determine which option is best but these same homeowners may not realize they should also prudently consider not re-financing as an option. This is often thought of as the “do nothing” option because it refers to the conditions which will exist if the homeowner does not make a change in their mortgage situation.
For every re-financing option looked at, the homeowner should determine the estimated monthly payment, amount of interest paid during the course of the loan, year in which the loan will be fully repaid, and the amount of time the homeowner will have to remain in the home to recoup closing costs associated with re-financing. Homeowners should also determine these values for their current mortgage as it can be very helpful for comparison purposes. Homeowners can compare these results and often the best decision is very clear from these numeric calculations. However, if the analysis does not yield an obvious answer, the homeowner may have to evaluate secondary factors to make the best possible decision.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Bob Schwartz, is a Certified Residential Specialist, and a CA licensed San Diego real estate broker with. Bob has over 27 years of residential real estate experience, authored a number of published articles and served as an expert witness for San Diego lawyers. You can contact Bob via his highly popular San Diego real estate website.
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