Buying your home to begin with was probably a complex transaction. There was
a lot of paperwork, a lot of anxiety, an avalanche of details involved in
packing, moving, closing, unpacking. When you think about refinancing, you might
remember those headaches and forget the idea. But there are a lot of reasons you
might want to give it careful thought. Not only is loan processing much quicker
and easier these days, but you may serve a lot of other very individual purposes
as well. Consider the following.
Refinancing may put money back in your pocket every month.
If rates are lower now than when you originally financed your home, or if
you choose an adjustable rate mortgage with a lower initial interest rate
then your current rate, your monthly payment will go down (assuming you
don't shorten the term or increase the loan balance significantly). That
means you can save more every month or afford those dance lessons or dinners
out or new suit you've had our eye on. Not only that, but you probably won't
have to scrape together money to bring to the closing table either, because
you can usually include all of the costs to close your loan in the new loan
amount.
Refinancing may put a lot of money in your hands today.
If you have significant equity in your house, you could get a cash-out
refinance and walk away from the closing table not only with a new loan but
with a large amount of money to invest or to use for a once in a lifetime
opportunity - like an extensive vacation, college, home improvements or the
purchase of a boat or anything else you've been dreaming of all your life.
Refinancing may give you a good night's sleep.
If you have an adjustable rate mortgage and the worry over the direction of
interest rates has been keeping you up at nights, you could refinance into a
fixed rate and stop all of that tossing and turning.
Refinancing may help you get organized.
Maybe what you really need is to get control over all of the different
charge cards and personal debt that has sprung up around you - and like the
idea that you may end up with a tax advantage by doing so. Ask your tax
advisor to be certain. You could refinance your home, use some of the
proceeds to consolidate your debt and just make one convenient, low-interest
payment every month.
Refinancing may get you out of debt faster!
Refinancing your current loan to a fifteen year or a bi-weekly loan may be
possible without even raising the payment significantly, particularly if
rates were high when you first bought. You could save thousands and
thousands in interest and own your home many years before you would with a
standard 30 year loan.