Mortgage Refinancing Tips and Advice
Refinancing your mortgage can be a long and tiresome process, but it doesn't have to be.
Many people don't realize that there are many different tools at their disposal that will help to make the process much easier.
In this article we will give you three tips that will transform the process from being a major headache to something much more manageable.
1. Make the competition come to you.
The biggest mistake people make is that they solicit quotes from banks and lenders individually. Meaning, they call up the bank on the phone (or even worse, visit in person), and ask for a quote.
As you may already know, this process can take upwards of an hour when you are sitting at a bank.
If you are truly looking for a great quote, then you would need to receive quotes from at least 5-10 banks. This can literally take days, and there is a much easier way.
Lendingtree.com is a site that connects potential borrowers (you) with banks and lenders.
Lendingtree isn't a bank - rather, they are a middleman that is looking to supply you with competing quotes from different lenders.
How is how it works - Lendingtree will ask for a bit of information from you via a short form. They will then match this information with the hundreds of lenders in their database, and return a number of competing (and real) refinancing quotes.
You are under absolutely no obligation to take out a loan if you ask for a quote.
So, instead of taking hours (or even days) to receive competing quotes from different banks and lenders, you can do it in about 10 minutes with Lendingtree.com.
2. You do not have to deal with your "home" bank.
Just because you have your bank accounts with a certain lender doesn't mean that you have to refinance through them.
Some people believe that you should refinance through your "home" bank because they already know you.
If you are comfortable dealing with your "home" bank, then fine - however, you are free to refinance your mortgage through anyone that you please.
I've lost track of the number of people who have said to me "I got stuck with a high interest rate by going through my bank, I had no idea that I could refinance elsewhere."
Also, it's worth mentioning in case you didn't know - you certainly don't have to refinance your mortgage with the bank that holds your original mortgage.
3. Now is a great time to refinance.
Mortgage rates are currently near historical lows. If you were thinking about refinancing, then now is the time to do it.
When the economy starts to recover, interest rates will very likely begin to move higher as well.
Now, you should obviously only refinance if you feel comfortable - however, if you WERE seriously thinking about refinancing, then now would certainly be a great time to do so.
Filed under: General Knowledge
