Refinanced today

[mithrandir2001]

Just before the bond market tanked today, I locked in a refi loan at Friday's pricing. I currently have a 30 year fixed mortgage @ 7.25% and I refinanced today with a 7/1 ARM @ 5.75%. I decided to do an ARM because I don't think I'll live at my house for more than 7 years. I could have selected a new 30 year fixed mortgage @ 6.50%, but the ARM is $51 a month less. Over 7 years, that's some sizable change.

Closing costs should amount to about $1800 and since my monthly payment is dropping by $106, I'll recoup those costs fairly quickly. It feels strange to refi already since I bought my house in April. But a 1.5% rate reduction is a 1.5% rate reduction.

Anybody else rush to refinance during these fantastic low rate conditions?

 

[RossMAN]

My friend is going to refi his house through his Credit Union which is somehow offering 4.9% ARM for 3 years, not sure of all the specifics but it would save him THOUSANDS in the long run.

 

[Stark]

My friend is going to refi his house through his Credit Union which is somehow offering 4.9% ARM for 3 years,

Ya, but the payments are going to be murder!

We just refinanced as well.

 

[vi edit]

Ya, but the payments are going to be murder!

We just refinanced as well.

Not with an arm. First 3 years are based on a 30 year mortgage rate, but at the super, super low financing rates.

I looked into refinancing my 30 year conventional into a 5 year ARM, but I didn't have enough equity in the house yet for the bank to go along with the refinancing.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Stark

My friend is going to refi his house through his Credit Union which is somehow offering 4.9% ARM for 3 years,

Ya, but the payments are going to be murder!

We just refinanced as well.

That's what I'm not looking forward to. Renting is so nice but you're literally throwing away money because after 5 or 10 years you have nothing to show for it, no equity.

 

[PsychoAndy]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: Stark

My friend is going to refi his house through his Credit Union which is somehow offering 4.9% ARM for 3 years,

Ya, but the payments are going to be murder!

We just refinanced as well.

That's what I'm not looking forward to. Renting is so nice but you're literally throwing away money because after 5 or 10 years you have nothing to show for it, no equity.

which is exactly why i want to buy one. i figure even if i float the sucker at 11 points i can make out fairly well.

 

[charrison]

Rossman,

Renting has it advantages, the maintaince is not your problem. Just got a 20 year old house, locked in at 6.75%.
Only been here a couple weeks and already taking bids for AC work. Then new flooring....arrrrrrggggggggg.

 

[Squisher]

I've been thinking about doing this. Right now I'm at 8.25%

I'm like 5 years along in a 15yr mortgage. I haven't payed much of the principle yet, but I hate to start another 15 year mortgage and to do a 10yr. would probably mean an increase in payment.

 

[ScoobMaster]

Sitting in the finished basement of my 51-year-old brick cape cod here in wonderful Endicott, NY. I am closing Wednesday on an refinance to 15 year fixed at 6.00%. That will be replacing a VARIABLE (NEVER EVER EVER get a variable rate mortgage - learn from my mistake - they ONLY go UP!!!!!) FHA 30 year that has ballooned from 6.75 to 8.15 (peaked at 9.15 last year before it FINALLY came down some.


I asked several lenders to explain to me how in the he** my variable could keep climbing while the bottom was falling out of the fixed rates! Dams freakin fuzzy math rip-off screw the borrower computations!

Hello to my 6% 15-year FIXED!

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: charrison
Rossman,

Renting has it advantages, the maintaince is not your problem. Just got a 20 year old house, locked in at 6.75%.
Only been here a couple weeks and already taking bids for AC work. Then new flooring....arrrrrrggggggggg.

True, right now if it's broke it's the landlords problem and not mine (unless I broke it).

So plumbing, electrical, roofing, flooring all that major stuff I don't have to worry about right now.

What I'd like to do is find a quaint 2 bedroom 1 or 1.5 bath house with a decent backyard for around $150k pay it off somehow in 10-15 years making HUGE ASS payments and living dirt cheap, get some equity then build a new house ...

*dreaming*

 

[T2T III]

Anybody else rush to refinance during these fantastic low rate conditions?

I've been locked in a 6.5% for about 6 years now for a 30-year mortgage. The only advantage where I would gain is if I were to go to a 15-year loan and pay $240 more a month. However, I'm not paying any PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) because I'm using VA financing. Also, I could cut-over to a conventional mortgage and also skip the PMI because we have 50% equity in the place (gotta love a hot real estate market).

Threre are some great rates out there. One mortgage company offered to refinance my VA loan via the "streamlined option" which means no new credit check, no new survey, no new termite inspection and the company was going to pick up all of my closing costs. The only expense that I would absorb would have been the VA funding fee which would have amounted to about $650. The mortgage company would initially pay the $1,500 in closing costs, but would get the money back when they sold the mortgage to Chase. You guys might want to check into some lenders that might offer to cover some of the closing costs - it'll make the deal a little sweeter. I just can't make my mind up on the 15-year mortgage @ 6.00% though.

 

[ScoobMaster]

Rossman.


WHOA.......what neighborhood are you looking in. I have a nice 3-bedroom brick cape cod with 2 full and 1 half bath, carport, and a pretty small lot (104' x 54' ) but it only cost me $52000! Even with the 15 year mortgage I am switching to, my payments are less than some of my co-workers pay for their dang CARS!

 

[RossMAN]

ScoobMaster - Sh!t where abouts (city/state) do you live?

This is suburbia SE Portland, not even the "nice" part of town ... everyday middle income class folks.

 

[Squisher]

Originally posted by: charrison
Rossman,

Renting has it advantages, the maintaince is not your problem. Just got a 20 year old house, locked in at 6.75%.
Only been here a couple weeks and already taking bids for AC work. Then new flooring....arrrrrrggggggggg.

I've got a 75 yr. old house, welcome to wonderful world of home ownership.

 

[bwass24]

I just refinanced also. It turned out to be a totally excellent deal for me. I had a 15 year fixed at 7.125% and my new mortgage is also 15 year fixed, but at 5.94%. The excellent thing about this situation is that my apartment (in NYC) has more than doubled in value in the last 4 years and I was able to cash out $30K and I'll be paying 20% less monthly.

The secret here is to pay a little extra principle every month. It turns a 15 year mortgage into an 8 or 9 year obligation, and you build up equity REALLY fast.

OH the wonders of compound interest.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Squisher

Originally posted by: charrison
Rossman,

Renting has it advantages, the maintaince is not your problem. Just got a 20 year old house, locked in at 6.75%.
Only been here a couple weeks and already taking bids for AC work. Then new flooring....arrrrrrggggggggg.

I've got a 75 yr. old house, welcome to wonderful world of home ownership.

Damn 75 years old? And I think a 30 year old house is "OLD".

 

[Squisher]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: Squisher

Originally posted by: charrison
Rossman,

Renting has it advantages, the maintaince is not your problem. Just got a 20 year old house, locked in at 6.75%.
Only been here a couple weeks and already taking bids for AC work. Then new flooring....arrrrrrggggggggg.

I've got a 75 yr. old house, welcome to wonderful world of home ownership.

Damn 75 years old? And I think a 30 year old house is "OLD".

hehehe.

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: Squisher

Originally posted by: charrison
Rossman,

Renting has it advantages, the maintaince is not your problem. Just got a 20 year old house, locked in at 6.75%.
Only been here a couple weeks and already taking bids for AC work. Then new flooring....arrrrrrggggggggg.

I've got a 75 yr. old house, welcome to wonderful world of home ownership.

I feel somewhat better now....

 

[BeerGod]

WHAT BANKS are you refinancing with?>

I just bought my house in December 2001, and im stuck at 9%!!!
Can I refinance yet?> What about credit? I bought a $135,000 house....

 

[ScoobMaster]

Rossman:

I am in Upstate New York - in a village called Endicott. You may have heard of recently - a small little-known company was FOUNDED here and just recently SOLD it's remaining original buildings. what was the name of that little company again.....oh yeah... IBM!

I live just a few blcoks from the (now former ) original IBM buildings. Sadly, IBM is the biggest reason for the cheap housing here. Back when I graduated from high school (1987) and into the early 90's IBM let go of about 15000 people in this area! It was a big bummer, have lived in the area my whole life (call me crazy, but I like it here). It was sad to see so many friends and neighbors go! On the other hand, it allowed my wife and I to buy this home WICKED cheap.

1480 square feet, brick (built in 1951), and SOLID - all for a mere 52 grand!

Endicott is right along the NY/PA border (the "Southern Tier" of NY as we call it) and about mid-way through the state east-west.

And for the record we WERE/ARE the birthplace of IBM.

 

[ScoobMaster]

Beergod:

I am going with Wells-Fargo.

15=year at 6.00% fixed.

I think they offered 30-year fixed at 6.375 or so. You can check approximate rates at their website

 

[Squisher]

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: Squisher

Originally posted by: charrison
Rossman,

Renting has it advantages, the maintaince is not your problem. Just got a 20 year old house, locked in at 6.75%.
Only been here a couple weeks and already taking bids for AC work. Then new flooring....arrrrrrggggggggg.

I've got a 75 yr. old house, welcome to wonderful world of home ownership.

I feel somewhat better now....

Not a good pic of the house(was taking one of the wife's car), I'll have to get one tomarrow.

Rossman:

I am in Upstate New York - in a village called Endicott. You may have heard of recently - a small little-known company was FOUNDED here and just recently SOLD it's remaining original buildings. what was the name of that little company again.....oh yeah... IBM!

I live just a few blcoks from the (now former ) original IBM buildings. Sadly, IBM is the biggest reason for the cheap housing here. Back when I graduated from high school (1987) and into the early 90's IBM let go of about 15000 people in this area! It was a big bummer, have lived in the area my whole life (call me crazy, but I like it here). It was sad to see so many friends and neighbors go! On the other hand, it allowed my wife and I to buy this home WICKED cheap.

1480 square feet, brick (built in 1951), and SOLID - all for a mere 52 grand!

Endicott is right along the NY/PA border (the "Southern Tier" of NY as we call it) and about mid-way through the state east-west.

And for the record we WERE/ARE the birthplace of IBM.

Lookout ScoobMaster, RossMAN smells a Hot Deal

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: ScoobMaster
Rossman:

I am in Upstate New York - in a village called Endicott. You may have heard of recently - a small little-known company was FOUNDED here and just recently SOLD it's remaining original buildings. what was the name of that little company again.....oh yeah... IBM!

I live just a few blcoks from the (now former ) original IBM buildings. Sadly, IBM is the biggest reason for the cheap housing here. Back when I graduated from high school (1987) and into the early 90's IBM let go of about 15000 people in this area! It was a big bummer, have lived in the area my whole life (call me crazy, but I like it here). It was sad to see so many friends and neighbors go! On the other hand, it allowed my wife and I to buy this home WICKED cheap.

1480 square feet, brick (built in 1951), and SOLID - all for a mere 52 grand!

Endicott is right along the NY/PA border (the "Southern Tier" of NY as we call it) and about mid-way through the state east-west.

And for the record we WERE/ARE the birthplace of IBM.

Very nice price and location. How far are you from the major NY cities? I only know of NYC and Albany.

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: BeerGod
WHAT BANKS are you refinancing with?>

I just bought my house in December 2001, and im stuck at 9%!!!
Can I refinance yet?> What about credit? I bought a $135,000 house....

You can refinance at any time, you will just have to pay closing costs.
If you drop 2-3 points, you will probably come out ahead even if you finance those costs as well.



According to This site you would save ~$200/month to refinance now...sounds like a hot deal.

This is a great calculator for playing with you credit payment schedules

 

[ScoobMaster]

Well now, if we are going to start sharing PICS!!!

Here are a couple of my "bargain" home.

Maybe Rossman will move up here and be our neighbor.