Good interest rate..........refi? (mortgage, refinance, credit)

[A-BIG-NOTHING]

hi,
as some of you may know by now, i bought a SFH in late 08. bought at about 375k and bought down the rate with a point to 5.25%.

do you think the rate will go down enough for me to refi?
anyone know the rate as of today?

[becwells]

5.25% is an excellent rate (we got 6.75% in late 2007). You probably won't get much better than that if you refinance now. You do realize that to refinance you need equity in your home, and I very much doubt you have much, if any, with the market as it is now.

[A-BIG-NOTHING]

Originally Posted by becwells

5.25% is an excellent rate (we got 6.75% in late 2007). You probably won't get much better than that if you refinance now. You do realize that to refinance you need equity in your home, and I very much doubt you have much, if any, with the market as it is now.

525 is a good rate indeed....
yeah, i'm aware about the equity that's needed.......but i put 10% down and have done some major updates/additions....so i'm hoping for the best.

[becwells]

Keep in mind that, even though federal rates are down to 4.5% (I think that's the most current), you probably wouldn't get that rate. It would probably end up being closer to 5%, and with closing costs, it may not be worth it.

[A-BIG-NOTHING]

Originally Posted by becwells

Keep in mind that, even though federal rates are down to 4.5% (I think that's the most current), you probably wouldn't get that rate. It would probably end up being closer to 5%, and with closing costs, it may not be worth it.

exactly right. i figured that in order for it to pay for itself in 3 years, it'll have to be around 4.5

[snorkey]

I have a question. Why do you want to buy down the rates unless you are 100% sure the rates will not go down further which nobody knows.

I have refinanced 8 times and paid nothing for closing. All the way up from 7.5% and down to 5.5%. Another re fi was closed this week at 5.375%.
When the rates go down further, I will re fi.

[oneasterisk]

How are you paying no closing costs? Are you just rolling the closing costs into the new loan? I've thought about refi my two mortgages (80% @ 5.875%/20% * 8.75%) and consolidating into 1 loan, but not sure on the closing costs. I have the money for closing costs, but honestly don't want to part with it if I don't have to. I'm comfortable paying the loan as it stands, but if doing a refi can allow me to pocket a few more bucks every month then that would be ideal.

[snorkey]

Originally Posted by oneasterisk

How are you paying no closing costs? Are you just rolling the closing costs into the new loan? I've thought about refi my two mortgages (80% @ 5.875%/20% * 8.75%) and consolidating into 1 loan, but not sure on the closing costs. I have the money for closing costs, but honestly don't want to part with it if I don't have to. I'm comfortable paying the loan as it stands, but if doing a refi can allow me to pocket a few more bucks every month then that would be ideal.

I am not exactly sure how it works but when I went to closing, I saw the final amount of the loan and it was the amount that was paid to the previous bank (Wells Fargo). There was lots of fees and taxes but I got credit from the Fifth bank and I am not sure why. When I was about to sign they told me I need to pay for escrow which was $1200 and I got $300 discount, totalling $900. They told me that Wells Fargo's escrow money should arrive to my house within a month of around $8xx and change.

[Samara11]

hmmmm.... interesting.... I just googled this as it caught my attention. Found the following:
"On most refinances you can choose to have your lender pay for all your Non-Recurring Closing Costs. This is often referred to as a No Points No Fees (NPNF) Refinance. In order to get a No Closing Cost Refinance you will need to accept a slightly higher rate than a normal No Points mortgage. Usually about .250% to .500% higher. "

This site has a good explanation.
Does "No-Cost" Mortgage Refinance Make Sense?

[A-BIG-NOTHING]

Originally Posted by snorkey

I have a question. Why do you want to buy down the rates unless you are 100% sure the rates will not go down further which nobody knows.

I have refinanced 8 times and paid nothing for closing. All the way up from 7.5% and down to 5.5%. Another re fi was closed this week at 5.375%.
When the rates go down further, I will re fi.

sorry but i think you may have been duped into re-financing multiple times without understanding it fully! you ARE charged a large amount each time....usually 2-4k on a regular townhouse....(mine was 5k for a 230k house).....what they're doing is they're rolling the closing cost to the back end of your loan!!!!!! please stop doing it unless you're CERTAIN that it's costing you zero!!!

example: my loan was 225k. i refinanced. cost: 5k. i paid 0. but my loan was now 225k+5k = 230k at a lower rate! (so....it wasn't FREE as you mentioned. i just didn't pay it right away!)