When you consider that most homeowners don't know too much about refinancing, we assume that people learn some of the key phrases that mortgage companies use to advertise their refinance programs. These phrases are things like "no cost", "no points", APR, streamline, closing costs, an many more terms that don't do much more than get people in the door. Once you're in the door, you will then need to determine whether or not you want to work with the loan officer you meet. Hopefully he or she is someone that was recommended to, but even if not, you can use the following tips to help you determine if the individual you're working with is good.
The first tip that I have for you is to do your due diligence by shopping around. Don't automatically go sign up with the first office you visit unless you've at least talked with a couple of other loan officers and know that the first one you visit is the best. Several mortgage companies now have a lot of valuable information on the internet and finding their websites can be relatively easy to do. This will help you do some priliminary research before you decide to go with one company over another. Getting several quotes will at least give you a better idea of what a good rate is. Be cautious of the traditional bait and switch where a company will get you in the door with a low rate only to have a lot of additional fees and "points". Make sure you're comparing apples to apples and get the entire cost, not just the APR.
The second tip is to check to make sure your existing mortgage does not have a pre-payment penalty which will penalize you if you refinance. Most lenders have a 120 day prepayment penalty which means that you wouldn't be able to refinance within that 120 days without paying the pre-payment penalty. This also means that you wouldn't be refinancing more than 3 times per year usually. Some lenders do have a 90 day prepayment penalty, but most are 120 days. You can usually find this out in the original documentation on your loan or by contacting the lender or group that services your loan.
This third tip may be the one that saves you the most money in the long run. The base rate that a lender charges is called the par rate. The rate that you pay is based on this rate. If you are paying upfront costs including loan origination fees and other fees such as appraisals, etc, then you should be able to get very close to this par rate. If your lender is doing a no-cost refi, this usually means he or she is making money of selling the loan at a higher rate which will typically cost you much more in the long run. If you are in a home where you plan to live for the remainder of the time left on the loan, such as a 15 year or 30 year mortgage, your most cost effective solution is to get that rate as low as possible which may also include "buying down" the rate. Keep in mind that this strategy works the best if you are refinancing because the rate is very low. If you're refinancing becaue of a cash out or some other reason and the rate is only so-so, you may decide to not focus as much on the rate because you'll most likely refinance again in the future.
Also, if you are in only a temporary situation or know that you will only be in your home for a shorter amount of time, instead of buying down the rate, your best option may be to lower your monthly costs as much as possible instead of coming up with more cash at closing. It may be that if the cost to buy down the rate is $2,000 which may save you $20,000 over the 30 years you'll have this mortgage, of course it's worth it. But you may also need to decide on the value of that same $2,000 if invested in another medium. For instance, how much would that same $2,000 be worth if invested in something like t-bonds or another sort of mutual fund, etc. Often, the interest rate on a mortgage is low enough that buying down the rate to get slightly lower may not be worth it. Run the numbers with a competent loan officer and you'll have a good idea of what may best help you.
The fourth tip is to reserve the credit check for the loan officer and broker you decide to go with. This shouldn't matter too much as the credit bureaus made some changes with how multiple inquiries within the same period of time affects overall credit score. The answer is that the credit adjusts as if it were only one inquiry. Also, to keep an eye on your own credit, you have the option to get a free credit report from each agency once per year. What this means is that if you request your credit report every 4 months, you'll have a good chance of seeing not only what is on it, but your score as well. The three agencies are Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax.
The fifth tip is to work with a loan officer that isn't going to "rip you off" when it comes to the backend payouts that the loan officer receives from the bank. This payout is called Yield Spread Premium (YSP). As an example, if the loan officer sells the rate for 1% higher than the par rate or the rate the lender is offering, then there may be a payout of a certain percentage of the loan amount paid to the loan officer broker. The loan officer or mortgage office will use this YSP to cover things like the loan origination fees, the appraisal, and any other misc. fees that are typically associated with a refinance. This is not a bad thing especially if you know about it. What happens too often is that the loan officer knows that you the borrower don't know anything about this YSP and so will increase the rate by more than is really ethical or moral. Don't be afraid to ask your loan officer what they are making on the loan. This is the same as asking what a loan origination fee should be. You may get a feel with this one question how honest and trustworthy your loan officer is. Also, the fact that present your awareness of the YSP to the loan officer will usually be an indication that you know enough about loans that you aren't a customer to be taken advantage of. This often may be enough and alone this tip may save you thousands over the life of the loan.
The main points to take away from this article are that you can save a lot of money if you're aware of the numbers involved and have a basic understanding of how mortgages work. If nothing else, you can use this information to help you identify a good mortgage broker or loan officer from a loan officer that does not have your best interests in mind. Refinancing doesn't have to be difficult, but expect to put some work in to this as your home is typically your most expensive purchase and is worth a little caution when dealing with the financial side of home ownership.
The first tip that I have for you is to do your due diligence by shopping around. Don't automatically go sign up with the first office you visit unless you've at least talked with a couple of other loan officers and know that the first one you visit is the best. Several mortgage companies now have a lot of valuable information on the internet and finding their websites can be relatively easy to do. This will help you do some priliminary research before you decide to go with one company over another. Getting several quotes will at least give you a better idea of what a good rate is. Be cautious of the traditional bait and switch where a company will get you in the door with a low rate only to have a lot of additional fees and "points". Make sure you're comparing apples to apples and get the entire cost, not just the APR.
The second tip is to check to make sure your existing mortgage does not have a pre-payment penalty which will penalize you if you refinance. Most lenders have a 120 day prepayment penalty which means that you wouldn't be able to refinance within that 120 days without paying the pre-payment penalty. This also means that you wouldn't be refinancing more than 3 times per year usually. Some lenders do have a 90 day prepayment penalty, but most are 120 days. You can usually find this out in the original documentation on your loan or by contacting the lender or group that services your loan.
This third tip may be the one that saves you the most money in the long run. The base rate that a lender charges is called the par rate. The rate that you pay is based on this rate. If you are paying upfront costs including loan origination fees and other fees such as appraisals, etc, then you should be able to get very close to this par rate. If your lender is doing a no-cost refi, this usually means he or she is making money of selling the loan at a higher rate which will typically cost you much more in the long run. If you are in a home where you plan to live for the remainder of the time left on the loan, such as a 15 year or 30 year mortgage, your most cost effective solution is to get that rate as low as possible which may also include "buying down" the rate. Keep in mind that this strategy works the best if you are refinancing because the rate is very low. If you're refinancing becaue of a cash out or some other reason and the rate is only so-so, you may decide to not focus as much on the rate because you'll most likely refinance again in the future.
Also, if you are in only a temporary situation or know that you will only be in your home for a shorter amount of time, instead of buying down the rate, your best option may be to lower your monthly costs as much as possible instead of coming up with more cash at closing. It may be that if the cost to buy down the rate is $2,000 which may save you $20,000 over the 30 years you'll have this mortgage, of course it's worth it. But you may also need to decide on the value of that same $2,000 if invested in another medium. For instance, how much would that same $2,000 be worth if invested in something like t-bonds or another sort of mutual fund, etc. Often, the interest rate on a mortgage is low enough that buying down the rate to get slightly lower may not be worth it. Run the numbers with a competent loan officer and you'll have a good idea of what may best help you.
The fourth tip is to reserve the credit check for the loan officer and broker you decide to go with. This shouldn't matter too much as the credit bureaus made some changes with how multiple inquiries within the same period of time affects overall credit score. The answer is that the credit adjusts as if it were only one inquiry. Also, to keep an eye on your own credit, you have the option to get a free credit report from each agency once per year. What this means is that if you request your credit report every 4 months, you'll have a good chance of seeing not only what is on it, but your score as well. The three agencies are Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax.
The fifth tip is to work with a loan officer that isn't going to "rip you off" when it comes to the backend payouts that the loan officer receives from the bank. This payout is called Yield Spread Premium (YSP). As an example, if the loan officer sells the rate for 1% higher than the par rate or the rate the lender is offering, then there may be a payout of a certain percentage of the loan amount paid to the loan officer broker. The loan officer or mortgage office will use this YSP to cover things like the loan origination fees, the appraisal, and any other misc. fees that are typically associated with a refinance. This is not a bad thing especially if you know about it. What happens too often is that the loan officer knows that you the borrower don't know anything about this YSP and so will increase the rate by more than is really ethical or moral. Don't be afraid to ask your loan officer what they are making on the loan. This is the same as asking what a loan origination fee should be. You may get a feel with this one question how honest and trustworthy your loan officer is. Also, the fact that present your awareness of the YSP to the loan officer will usually be an indication that you know enough about loans that you aren't a customer to be taken advantage of. This often may be enough and alone this tip may save you thousands over the life of the loan.
The main points to take away from this article are that you can save a lot of money if you're aware of the numbers involved and have a basic understanding of how mortgages work. If nothing else, you can use this information to help you identify a good mortgage broker or loan officer from a loan officer that does not have your best interests in mind. Refinancing doesn't have to be difficult, but expect to put some work in to this as your home is typically your most expensive purchase and is worth a little caution when dealing with the financial side of home ownership.
About the Author:
Brian Armstrong is a loan officer specializing in home loans in Salt Lake City. His focus has always been customer related as the value of word of mouth referrals is paramount to success in the mortage industry. You can also find Brian's videos about mortgages in Salt Lake City on his Youtube.com Channel.
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