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Refinance Home Equity Article
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Mortgage Refinancing
Mortgage Refinancing is becoming more and more common today with the rising costs of buying or maintaining a home as well as the fluctuating interest rates.
When we take out a mortgage to purchase a home, most of us feel it will be a one-time mortgage that we'll be paying on for a specific number of years until it's paid off. Mortgage refinancing is usually not something we're thinking of at this time. However, many individuals and couples choose mortgage refinancing as an option for lower interest rates or to get additional cash out of the equity of our home.
Banks and lending institutions probably do as many loans for mortgage refinancing as they do for new mortgage loans today. Our homes are probably the only asset we own that doesn't depreciate and lose value through the years. When we take out our original mortgage, we are borrowing on the value of the home.
Most banks, however, will only borrow up to 80% of the value of the home. This is to protect them in the case of a foreclosure. If for some reason, you couldn't make the payments and they have to repossess the home, they are guaranteed getting their money back. Homes that are repossessed by banks are generally put up for auction.
Unfortunately, they aren't always sold for their full value and the banks don't always get back all their money. With economy as shaky as it is today, unfortunately many couples are losing their homes to foreclosure.
Foreclosure is not good for the lender or the borrower because it costs both of them a lot of money in legal fees and court costs. For this reason, lending institutions will usually work with you as much as possible to help you save your home.
Mortgage refinancing is usually the first recommendation they'll make to you as an effort to help you get ahead. Most people don't reach this point until they've had the mortgage for a few years so their loan balance has decreased while their home value has increased.
Mortgage refinancing gives them a chance to get in a better financial situation.
Most people that reach this point are heavily in debt with other bills besides their mortgage. Mortgage refinancing gives them the opportunity to pay off their current mortgage, get extra cash to pay off additional debts and, often, lower their monthly payments.
With the other debts paid off, these are monthly payments they'll no longer have to make, allowing them to only have their mortgage payment to make. When they do mortgage refinancing, they usually will extend the life of their loan as well.
When their financial situation is better and their credit rating has improved, they have the option of mortgage refinancing again to lower the term of their mortgage.
Refinance Home Equity Specific links
Refinance Home Equity News
Push intensifies to pass home-loan refinancing bill - The Hill (blog)
Push intensifies to pass home-loan refinancing bill The Hill (blog) Mark Zandi, chief economist with Moody's Analytics, told a Senate panel Thursday that he supports a measure to eliminate hurdles for homeowners to refinance into lower interest rates under the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), and suggested ... Mortgage Q&A: Borrowers hit by mess others made Northen Virginia Refinancing Expert Explains New Home Affordable Refinance Program |
Despite Home Value Gains, Underwater Homeowners Owe $1.2 Trillion More than ... - MarketWatch (press release)
 Los Angeles Times | Despite Home Value Gains, Underwater Homeowners Owe $1.2 Trillion More than ... MarketWatch (press release) Nine out of 10 continue to make their mortgage and home loan payments on time, with only 10.1 percent more than 90 days delinquent. - Many homeowners in negative equity are not deeply underwater. Nearly 40 percent of underwater homeowners owe between 1 ... Underwater Nation: 16 Million Borrowers Owe More on House Than It's Worth |
BofA May Turn Profit on Mortgage Buybacks, Credit Suisse Says - BusinessWeek
 OregonLive.com | BofA May Turn Profit on Mortgage Buybacks, Credit Suisse Says BusinessWeek Much of the debt may have been originated under Freddie Mac's version of the federal Home Affordable Refinance Program for current borrowers with less than 20 percent home equity, according to analysts at Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and Nomura ... Realtors(R) Offer Support for Bill to Help Responsible Homeowners Refinance Freddie Mac: 30-year mortgage rate down a tick at 3.78% Mortgage rates hit 4th straight record low |
Can I refinance without much home equity? - CNNMoney (blog)
Can I refinance without much home equity? CNNMoney (blog) We have a second conventional mortgage on our primary (and only) home. When we purchased it, we used an 85-15-5 loan breakdown. We have since refinanced the primary mortgage, but are paying 8.4% on the second. Our loan-to-value ratio is too high to ... |
No Drop in Refinancing Expected - MortgageLoan.com
 King of How To News | No Drop in Refinancing Expected MortgageLoan.com Projections for refinancing under the federal Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) program for low- and negative-equity homeowners remained unchanged, with about $100 billion in HARP refinances expected in 2012, with a similar amount level foreseen ... Mortgage Refinance in Today's Real Estate Market |