If you feel you have sufficient income to continue making payments on your home, but need to lower the payments, one of the best choices — providing current interest rates are justifiably less than your existing rate — is to refinance the home.
By refinancing, you may be able to remain with your existing lender, or perhaps take advantage of better terms offered by another.
In addition to examining the current interest rates, the next question a homeowner must face when pursuing a refinancing option surround the property itself: Is the value of the property sufficient to support a new, replacement loan? Remember that an appraisal for the property will be done by your lender and must reflect that the loan amount sought is no more than the current guideline for lending. In a conventional loan, that generally means that the loan can be for no more than about 95% of the appraisal amount, based on your particular loan. At the moment, FHA will loan up to 96.5% of the home’s value.
Finally, you must determine whether your current credit position will support a new, replacement, loan. If you’ve fallen behind in your payments on your mortgage or perhaps on other debts, it may be difficult to qualify for a refinance mortgage.
The information presented on this Site should not be construed as legal or financial advice. You are advised to seek consultation with a qualified Attorney and Accountant. ©Gabrielle Nemes, 2010
