How To – Refinancing a Home Mortgage Steps and Tips
When considering refinancing your home mortgage, the first step is to get all of the details on what you have now. Sure, you have vague numbers in your head, but that won’t help you answer all of the loan application questions, or make a real hard-numbers based calculation about the value of refinancing. What exactly do you need to know before you dive into looking for low interest rates and refinancing your mortgage? Required Information Before Researching Interest Rates and Refinancing Current Balance of Home’s First Mortgage – Not a ballpark, an exact number according to your last statement. Current Balance of Home’s Second Mortgage or HELOC – Again, the number from the last statement. Current Interest Rate – What are you paying on your mortgage right now? ARM or Adjustable Interest Rate Features – When does your rate go up? (The actual date, not just the year.) How much can it go up in the first year? The second year? Each year after that? Is there a floor (minimum)? Is there a ceiling (maximum)? When Did Your Mortgage Start? – What day did you close on? Current Home Value? – Check Zillow and Trulia to get a ballpark. Print …