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Mortgage Refinance

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May 14, 2023 by Brett Tams

Save more, spend smarter, and make your money go further

Refinancing your mortgage is a great way to save money. As both a real estate investor and homeowner, I’ve refinanced mortgages about ten times in the last ten years. My wife and I are in the process of refinancing our mortgage on our primary residence now, for the second time in 12 months.

Through this process, including one failed attempt at a refi, I’ve learned a lot about how the process works. I’ve learned that it’s easy to mess up a home refinance. So, with that in mind, here are seven ways to wreck your next mortgage refinance.

Failing to Shop Around for the Best Rates

While home mortgage rates typically fall within a tight range from one bank to the next, they can and do vary.  Even a small variance of 25 basis points can have a significant financial impact over the course of a 15 or 30-year mortgage. It’s important to compare mortgage rates before locking in a loan.

Failing to Consider Fees

Costs are a critical component in determining whether it makes sense to refinance a mortgage. In some cases, banks will attempt to make their rates look very attractive by adding in significant costs to the loan. As a result, make sure you keep a close eye on the fees charged for the loan. Fortunately, costs for different loans are easy to compare because banks are required to provide you with a “Good Faith Estimate” that itemizes all of the costs of the loan.

Neglecting Your Credit Score

Your FICO credit score plays a significant role in determining the interest rate you can get. As a general rule, a FICO score in the mid to high 700’s will secure the lowest mortgage rates available, so long as you otherwise qualify for the loan. As your credit score goes down, however, the interest rates can rise significantly.  If your credit is less than stellar, you should considering improving your FICO score before refinancing your mortgage if at all possible.

Acquiring More Credit During the Refinance

I learned this one the hard way. During our current refinance, we applied for and obtained a new credit card. While this did not scuttle our loan application, it required significant documentation about the new card and any balances on the card. In some cases, new credit or debt obtained after you have been approved for the loan could wreck the refinance. Avoid new credit if at all possible, and at a minimum, discuss the issue with your bank or mortgage broker before applying.

Ignoring Your Savings Account

I was surprised by how much money we need to have available for closing. While the fees for our loan are minimal, we are required to bring enough cash for prepaid items (insurance and taxes), as well as interest on the loan from the date of closing to the end of the month. These items can easily add up to several thousand dollars and banks are required to document where you obtained the cash for closing. In our case, they required a copy of our most recent bank statement along with an explanation of the source of any large deposit. As a result, it’s important to maintain sufficient savings to handle the closing costs.

Changing Jobs During the Refinance

Sometimes we have no choice but to change jobs and in some cases, an opportunity comes along that’s too good to pass up.  If you are in the middle of a refinance, keep in mind that a new job will, at a minimum, add a lot of documentation requirements to your loan. If you can hold off until closing, that’s ideal. Otherwise, like taking on new credit, speak to your mortgage broker about the situation.

Yo-yo Refinancing

This is my term for those that refinance their house repeatedly. Having refinanced our house twice in 12 months, one could easily accuse us of committing this sin (a 30-year fixed rate south of 4% was too hard to pass up!). The key to remember, however, is that refinancing back into a 30-year mortgage adds a lot of time and interest to your mortgage. Before you know it, you’ll find yourself at the doorstep of retirement with a hefty mortgage still remaining on your home. One alternative is to refinance into a 15 or 20-year mortgage if you can handle the payments. You can compare the differences between a 15 and 30-year mortgage here.

We stuck with a 30-year mortgage, but my wife has informed me that it’s the last time she is agreeing to a refinance. I sure hope rates don’t go below 3 percent!

This article comes from Rob Berger, the founder of the popular personal finance blog, the Dough Roller, and credit card comparison site, Credit Card Offers IQ.

Save more, spend smarter, and make your money go further

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Best Life Insurance Companies 2023

February 14, 2023 by Brett Tams

What are the best life insurance companies in 2019? Find your perfect fit for term, whole and universal life insurance policies, just for starters.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.

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Save Money With Freezer Meals: 12 Cheap, Healthy Dinner Recipes

February 3, 2023 by Brett Tams

Curious about freezer meals, but don’t want to wind up with a flavorless mess? Try these healthy dinner recipes that freeze well and won’t break the bank. A little advance prep will save you lots of time when you need a quick meal.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.

Posted in: Mortgage Refinance Tagged: 2, affordable, All, ask, average, Bank, before, black, brown, Buy, chicken, company, containers, cooking, data, energy, evergreen, Family, Financial Wize, FinancialWize, food, food waste, Freebies, freelancers, Freezer Meals, future, good, great, Grill, grocery, health, healthy, healthy food, history, hot, internet, job, Learn, list, Main, Make, making, meal prep, mess, Minimalist, money, More, new, Original, Other, Pantry, Personal, prep, quality, ready, Recipes, repub, rich, running, safe, save, Save Money, single, Spending, storage, stories, summer, time, tips, title, traditional, Travel, turkey, unique, weather, white, will, winter, work

Dear Penny: Can I Pay My Wife So She Can Get Bigger Social Security Checks?

January 25, 2023 by Brett Tams

Dear Penny, I’ve earned more than the Social Security income limit for more than 35 years. I own my own business with my wife.  She worked for 12 years before we had children and returned to work five years ago, but earns only $40,000. I earn enough in my business to pay both of us […]

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.

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7 Real Estate Trends to Watch for in 2023

January 20, 2023 by Brett Tams

There have always been long-standing rules about real estate ownership, including the three most important ones: location, location, location. But the one constant about real estate investing is that nothing ever stays the same. Even the location rule, because preferred locations change from year to year, and certainly from generation to generation. After the 2020 […]

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.

Posted in: Home Buying, Mortgage Refinance Tagged: 2, 2021, 2022, 2023, 30-year, 4%, agent, All, asking price, Bank, bank account, bidding, bidding wars, Budget, Buy, buyer, buyers, company, country, Credit, decision, earning, estate, experts, Fannie Mae, Finance, finances, Financial Wize, FinancialWize, flood, Flood insurance, flooding, Freebies, good, great, home, home buying, Home Improvement, home prices, Home Sales, Homeowner, homeowners, homes, house, Housing, Housing market, Housing market outlook, Hurricane, impact, improvement, inspection, Insurance, interest, interest rate, interest rates, Investing, job, jobs, kitchen, Las Vegas, loan, Location, location, location, low, LOWER, Make, making, Managing Money, market, Market Trends, money, More, Mortgage, MORTGAGE RATE, Mortgage Rates, National Association of Realtors, natural, Natural disasters, negotiating, new, new year, new york, newsy, offer, offers, office, office spaces, Other, ownership, pandemic, payments, Personal, personal finance, Popular, projects, protect, rate, Rates, Real Estate, real estate agent, Real Estate Investing, Realtors, Recession, Redfin, Refinance, renters, repub, return to the office, Rising mortgage rates, safety, sales, san diego, save, Save Money, Saving, second, security, Sell, seller, sellers, shopping, sight unseen, suburbs, survey, the new year, the west, town, trends, unique, updates, water damage, West Coast, wildfire, will, work, workers

Best CD Rates of 2023

January 19, 2023 by Brett Tams

A certificate of deposit — CD for short — is a low-risk savings account that holds a fixed amount of money for a certain time, such as six months, one year or five years. During that time, your deposit earns a fixed interest rate. Usually, the longer the term, the higher the interest rate. When […]

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.

Posted in: Bank Accounts, Mortgage Refinance Tagged: 2, 2022, 2023, 5-year CD, 6-month CD, 6-month CD rates, All, AllY, Amount Of Money, app, ask, balance, Bank, bank accounts, banks, before, big, Buy, capital one, CD, CD Laddering, CDs, certificate of deposit, Checking Account, Checking Accounts, clear, comenity, company, Consumers, Credit, credit card, credit card company, Credit Card Debt, credit cards, credit union, Debt, deposit, discover, dividends, earn interest, earning, earnings, education, Emergency, Emergency Fund, evergreen, FDIC, Federal Reserve, Fees, Finance, Financial Wize, FinancialWize, fixed rate, Freebies, fund, funds, General, goal, goals, good, grace period, great, Income, industry, Inflation, Insurance, interest, interest rate, interest rates, Invest, investment, investors, IRA, irs, job, liquidity, list, LOWER, Make, Marcus, market, military, mobile, Mobile App, money, money market, Money Market Account, money market accounts, More, more money, new, offer, offers, Online Savings Account, Other, penfed, Personal, personal finance, Popular, portfolio, products, Raise, rate, Rates, repub, retirement, retirement account, retirement accounts, retirement savings, risk, safe, save, Save Money, Saving, savings, Savings Account, Savings Accounts, SEO, specialty, synchrony, taxable income, taxes, tools, traditional, trust, unique, versus, Vs., will, withdrawal

2023 Guide to Digital Estate Planning to Protect Your Legacy

January 18, 2023 by Brett Tams

In a modern world, our financial lives are increasingly digital. Online banking accounts, investment apps, trading platforms and crypto exchanges hold the keys to our personal wealth. But like they say: You can’t take it with you. So what happens to the money in those online accounts after you die? Who gets it and how […]

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.

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Should You Refinance Your Mortgage While Rates Are Low?

March 8, 2021 by Brett Tams

With mortgage rates at historic lows, let’s take a look at what that means and whether refinancing is right for you and your situation.

Full Story

The post Should You Refinance Your Mortgage While Rates Are Low? appeared first on MintLife Blog.

Posted in: Minimalist LIfestyle, Mortgage Refinance Tagged: 15-year, 30-year, 30-year mortgage, All, app, bills, Budget, budgets, Choices, closing, closing costs, cons, coronavirus, Coronavirus (COVID-19), cost, Credit, credit score, Economy, equity, Fall, Federal Reserve, Financial Wize, FinancialWize, home, Home Insurance, Homeowner, house, Housing, Housing Finances, impact, Insurance, interest, interest rate, interest rates, loan, low rates, Make, market, Mint, money, More, Mortgage, mortgage interest, Mortgage Interest Rates, mortgage market, mortgage payment, Mortgage Products, Mortgage Rates, mortgage refinance, Mortgages, new, News, pandemic, principal, products, property, property taxes, pros, Pros and Cons, rate, Rates, Refinance, refinance your mortgage, refinancing, save, taxes, under, will

Credit Sesame Can Help Homebuyers Fix This Problem Before It Happens

February 25, 2021 by Brett Tams

One in five Americans have an error on their credit report — making homebuying impossible (or exceedingly expensive). Credit Sesame can help fix it.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.

Posted in: Home Buying, Mortgage Refinance Tagged: Buy, cost, Credit, credit card, credit monitoring, Credit Report, credit score, credit scores, deposit, dream home, earnings, Essentials, expensive, Financial Wize, FinancialWize, Freebies, home, home buying, Homebuyers, house, How To, job, loan, Make, market, money, More, Mortgage, Personal, pre-approval, Raise, rate, Review, rewards, save, Save Money, tips

7 Eviction Moratorium FAQs for Renters, Landlords

January 28, 2021 by Brett Tams

If you’re behind on your rent because of the coronavirus pandemic, you just got extra time to catch up. During his first day in office, President Joe Biden extended an order that bars most landlords from pursuing evictions through the end of March 2021. With millions of people at risk of eviction, housing advocates have […]

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.

Posted in: Debt, Mortgage Refinance Tagged: 2021, All, bills, coronavirus, COVID-19, Credit, credit card, credit cards, dear penny, death, Debt, eviction, eviction moratorium, Family, Fees, filing jointly, Finance, Financial Wize, FinancialWize, food, Freebies, health, Health care, home, Housing, Income, interest, job, Joe Biden, landlord, landlords, lease, Local, Make, Medical, money, More, Move, newsy, Original, pandemic, Personal, personal finance, property, questions, Rent, rental, rental assistance, repub, save, Save Money, stimulus, tax, taxes, tenant, will, work
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