Refinancing in NH? What rates/terms are you getting? (Rochester: sales, real estate market)

[notdancingqueen]

Hi all,

We're going to be refinancing in the next month or so (the home addition is almost DONE - YAY!, Driveway goes in in 3 weeks, real estate market is stabilizing/stable, and we bought at/near the bottom of the market a year ago...yay yay yay.)

What sorts of terms are you getting on your refi's here in NH? Rates, points, fees, etc. Banks/companies with the best offers? Obviously we'll check in with the bank that holds the mortgage and the one that holds the construction loan but it's been awhile since I have mortgage shopped, and never up here, so thought I'd ask around.

We've got excellent credit and at least 20% equity - probably more. Very much looking forward to saving a few hundred each month. :-)

~NDQ

[BF66389]

Here's the bad news- rates have skyrocketed over the past 2-3 weeks. We were at 5.875% (w/ 1 point) but locked a refi at 5% (w/ 1 point) a few weeks ago (could kick myself for not locking at 4.625; but live and learn I guess).

I checked recently and many rates are into the 6s now, or back to the high 5s at the lowest.

As always your best bet is Credit Unions, but Wells Fargo has been VERY competitive lately as well (as of 3 weeks ago had BETTER rates than most Credit Unions). Wells Fargo's current rate is 5.75% for 30 year fixed, one credit union I belong to (typically awesome rates) is at 5.625%. Be aware that many places are overrun with people refinancing so they aren't as responsive as they should be...so keep pushing!

[Brave Stranger]

For get about it......the long bond is going through the roof. Home pries are still falling, and will at least fall into next year. Lol, sorry to be such a downer here.

[buck naked]

Wells Fargo specializes in Fannie Mae loans...correct?

if you just purchased your home last year, I wouldn't worry about values falling too much. Homes are selling in this area fairly quickly and they are still going for a pretty penny. New home construction is still underway on the north side of Rochester and heading into the Mt. Washington Valley and the homes are sold before they are completed.

5% seems to be the standard currently...if you can refinance without points, that's a big savings.

this site has all NH rates including VA and FHA - 30yr/20yr/ ARM's...etc
New Hampshire Refinance Rates - BestRate.com

[notdancingqueen]

Thanks all, esp. for the website links. Part of our loan is a construction loan at 8% so even if rates aren't quite as low as they were a few months ago it's still a savings for us when we look at the combined picture.


Brave Stranger -- to each his own of course, but imho from what I see out there, the market is recovering. Also, the assessed value increased from 9 months ago, and credit is easier to get. YMMV.

[BF66389]

Originally Posted by buck naked

Wells Fargo specializes in Fannie Mae loans...correct?

Wells Fargo does have FHA and VA loans...but they are just a normal bank.

They essentially bailed out Wachovia when they purchased them and didn't take any TARP for themselves. It's amazing what sticking to fairly normal loans and reasonable qualification criteria will do for you!

[Brave Stranger]

Originally Posted by notdancingqueen

Thanks all, esp. for the website links. Part of our loan is a construction loan at 8% so even if rates aren't quite as low as they were a few months ago it's still a savings for us when we look at the combined picture.


Brave Stranger -- to each his own of course, but imho from what I see out there, the market is recovering. Also, the assessed value increased from 9 months ago, and credit is easier to get. YMMV.

Really, there is no housing recovery yet. Prices are still falling almost every where.

[buck naked]

The housing market in New Hampshire has stopped its steady decline and shows signs of leveling off. Home prices in March were significantly lower than in the same month a year ago but the number of houses sold was up.

March saw good news for real estate watchers, the largest single month increase in sales on a one year basis since July of 2004. But experience shows that one uptick does not a trend make: April’s numbers dropped again and though housing prices have gone up over time, it seems like there may be a rocky road still ahead for homeowners, buyers and sellers.


today on NPR.

[seamusnh]

I refinanced at 5.125% with no points and no closing costs. Wells Fargo. Locked in in April and closed in early June.