I use Penfed as my basis for mortgage rates, since they seem to have some of the lowest around. Can you believe 4.375% for a 30 year conventional mortage with no points??? I just refinanced at 4.5% and am now kicking myself since rates seem to keep dropping. If you are in a rate over 5% and want to reduce that monthly mortage payment then you may consider refinancing. You can even refiance into a lower term mortgage as the 15 year rate is at 3.875%.

If you are a believer in the dobule-dip recession that everyone thinks is coming, then you may decide to wait. Unfortuently you never know if they rates are going to go up or down. It may definetly be worth a discussion with your current lender or possibly shopping around for others.

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You usually have to pay for an appraisal when you refinance. A lot of people are finding that when the appraisal comes back, their house has lost so much value that they don’t have enough equity to refinance. They then end up being out the cost of the appraisal which can range anywhere from $150-$400.

If you are wanting to refinance from a 30 year to a 15 year, remember the depending how many years you have been paying on that mortgage, moving to a 15 year most likely will require a higher monthly payment. My advice would be to keep the current mortgage, but just over pay it to effectively make it a 15 year. That way if you ever come across financial issues, you can revert back to the regular (lower) payment without being on the hook to the bank for a higher amount. Sure it is no longer going to get paid in 15 years, but there is that piece of financial security that is priceless.

As always, verify closing costs first and line that up with the number of years you think you are going to stay in the home. For example if closing costs are $6000 and you only plan on being there 5 more years, well that $6000 closing costs equate to $100 per month plus compounded interest over those 5 years, if your new payment after the refinance is not $100 less than your previous payment, there is no reason to finance since it won’t benefit you.

I always use a mortgage broker. I have used the same guy since I have bought my first home back in 1995. I use him since I always have a few things that I want when I refinance. My requirements are: No Escrow, No Prepayment Penalty.  When he does his rate search, he always finds me a lender at the lowest advertised rate with this conditions. He gets paid by the lender so I pay him nothing more than I would if I found the bank myself. I highly recommend you ask around for a reputable broker to help you in your search. In most cases states have increased laws to make sure they your interests are protected when using a broker.

These are just some things to think about before refinancing. Sure the lure or 4% mortgage rates is enticing, but you should always do your research to make sure that refianncing doesn’t cost you more that your current mortgage.

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My current mortgage rate is at 5.5%, which at the time (2 years ago) was a very good rate. I have decided to refinance to the 4.5% rate which will save me about $175 per month on my payment. Since I am refinancing over 30 years, I have decided to make payments using my current payment to help pay it down faster. I currently have a reward checking account at 5%. This is the first time ever that I have had a savings/checking account with a rate higher than my mortgage. I still need to see whether the advantage of paying down the mortgage is greater than just saving that extra money now. That is a post for another day!

I have a great mortgage broker where I all ever have to pay is for the appraisal and title costs which equates to around ~ $1000. If you refinance, that is one thing to keep any eye on. Some banks can try to charge you in upwards for $3000 for closing costs. My advice to you is to find a mortage broker and let him shop around for the best mortgage for you.

The 20 year and 15 year rates are around 4.25% and 4% respectively. If you are planning on staying in your current home for a while, you might think about refinancing at this point. Of course rates can still go lower, but they can also start going up.

If you want to crunch some numbers, try using the Bank Rate Mortgage Calculator. It lets you play around with the interest rate and payment amount to help you determine what best works for your situation.

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I just wanted to write a little about this since I keep hearing of people wondering if these are actually legit. Well before you go any further, do the math. Say for example her lender was really nice and stopped charging her interest. If she wanted to pay down the loan in 10 years, her monthly payment would be $2291.67. So how exactly is this Mortgage Paydown Program going to allow you to pay a $275,0000 loan that is accruing interest and keep the payment at $1423? Smells like a scam to me.

If you are really serious about paying your mortgage down earlier, just make a few extra payments a month up to what you can afford. I make 2 extra payments a year. What I do is take my mortgage payment of $1334 and multiply it by 2 to see the total amount of the extra payments. I then divide that ($2668) by 12 so that I can distribute it evenly over 12 months. So I just add an additional $222 to my mortgage payment each month. At the end of the year I would have made 2 extra payments which in turn lowers my interest and lessens the amount of time that I will need to pay my mortgage.

I would also reccomend doing something like this rather than refinancing to a 15 year. Sure the interest rate would be a little lower, but you are then on the hook for a larger payment every month. With what I am doing, I can make the extra payments if I have the money, but if I don’t I can still just pay the minimum payment. So it is more of a security blanket than anything. With the way the economy and gas prices are who knows what my financial situation will look like in a few months.

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Here is a great deal from Pentagon Federal Credit Union. They are currently offering home equity loans at 5.24% for up to 120 months. This is a fixed rate people, so no, it isn’t going skyrocket later. To get this rate you need to have at least 20% equity in the home after the loan is taken out. If you don’t have that much equity, their other rates are pretty good as well.

(Click on image for larger picture)

I can’t find anywhere where it discusses closing costs, but when I took out my home equity loan with them, there were zero closing costs. Yes, not even an appraisal. I would call them to ask about closing costs prior to applying. Since PenFed is a credit union, you need to be a member to get in on these great rates. Most credit unions require you to live or work in a certain area, however with PenFed anyone can join and the process is fairly simple. If you don’t fit in their field of membership then sign up to be a member of the National Military Family Association (NMFA). The cost is $20 to sign up and you don’t need to renew the membership every year to stay a member of the Credit Union. Not a bad way to get you in the door here.

You can get statements in the mail or have everything done electronically. You can even have your loan paid through their website, so no need to write checks. Which means that you can make the payment the day before it is due.

They offer other products as well like cash back credit cards, checking and savings accounts too. I currently have a home equity loan with them and am definitely happy with everything. The next time I need another mortgage or decide to refinance, I am sticking with PenFed. You just can’t beat their low rates and nonexistent fees.

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Pentagon Federal Credit Union, my current lender, has also lowered their mortgage rates. They are currently offering a 30-year fixed at 5.875%.

This is definitely competitive if not the lowest out there. If you are interested in something other than a 30 year, check out all rates for all their mortgage products here! The rates are great for those as well.

Pentagon Federal Credit Union is one of the few credit unions that can be joined by anyone. See this Post for details on how to become a member.

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Anyway, he took out a 30 year fixed mortgage, so odds are he’s paid some principal down. I told him that he really needs to get rid of the PMI. It is wasted money since it doesn’t go toward your mortgage at all. One thing I recommened he do is refinance with a 80/10/10 loan. What this means is that you take out a mortgage for 80% of the value of the loan, you put 10% down and the other 10% is put into a home equity loan. The 10% down and the 10% home equity loan satisifies the 20% down on the first loan thus avoiding PMI. You can do this same thing when purchasing a home, not just with refinancing.

There are many ways to avoid PMI these days so don’t opt for it just because you don’t have the full 20%. PMI is also very difficult to get out of once you have it on a mortgage. You have to have the lender review the loan to see if the home as increased in equity to satisfy the 20% needed to avoid paying it. You can imagine how hard this must be these days as values are actually decreasing. Your only other way is to refinance, but that can cost you some closing costs.

These days, there is no sense paying more money than you need to, that the would-be PMI and save it for a rainy day instead!

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Ok, I know I mentioned yesterday that taking out a Home Equity loan to pay off cars and other items could be risky. Well if you HAVE to do it, I thought I would offer a reccomendation.

I currently have a Home Equity loan through Pentagon Federal Credit Union. They are essentially a credit union that anyone can join. The reason I went with them was because there were no closing costs. LITERALLY! I asked for $20,000 and they sent me a check for $20,000. No fees, or anything. Not sure where else you can get a deal like that.

They are now offering Home Equity loans up to 120 months with no points or closing costs for 4.99%. The best part is that this is a fixed rate. So it is not going to change for the life of the loan like other lenders do. When I got my loan last year the rate was at 7.24%, so this is a pretty good deal!

Signing up is easy. If you don’t fit in their field of membership then sign up to be a member of the National Military Family Association (NMFA). The cost is $20 to sign up and you don’t need to renew the membership every year to stay a member of the Credit Union. Not a bad way to get you in the door here.

You can get statements in the mail or have everything done electronically. You can even have your loan paid through their website, so no need to write checks. Which means that you can make the payment the day before it is due.

They offer other products as well like cash back credit cards, checking and savings accounts too. Over the year I have had my loan with them I am definetly happy with everything. The next time I need another mortgage or decide to refinance, I am sticking with PenFed. You just can’t beat their low rates and nonexistent fees.

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