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Interest rates: Cheap mortgages, rush to refinance?
Should you refinance your mortgage to take advantage of falling interest rates?
Here are some answers on interest rates and getting a new mortgage.
How low will mortgage interest rates go?
Lots of people are talking about 4 percent, down from today’s 4.98 percent average.
I hope the market will not get locked up, as buyers insist on not refinancing their mortgages until rates fall to 4 percent.
How quickly should you try to grab a better rate?
At least one mortgage broker tells me that the drop will be very swift and short, meaning homeowners should refinance as quickly as possible. But you have to note that the last time the Treasury started buying up bonds, rates fell sharply at first, but drifted downard for more than a month afterward.
Will you qualify?
You can, for up to 105 percent of your home’s current value, under Treasury Department guidelins.
Can you get the deal done?
Mortgage companies and banks have cut and cut staff in the last year and a half. They are at bare bones staffing levels, I’ve heard.
And yet I saw that applications to refinance loans surged 21 percent last week.
So it may not be easy to put in your application, because there may not be enough workers there to handle it.
If you are refinancing, tell me how it's going. I'm working on a story about it and I'd like to chat.
Harriet Johnson Brackey, the personal finance writer for the Sun-Sentinel, has been an award-winning business...
Comments
I called my bank and they said "call back in April, after the bailout details are firmed up."
Not impressed.
Posted by: Nick Sortal | March 20, 2009 1:10 PM
Huh? What's their rate and do you qualify, those are the only things you should have been discussing. They don't want to make loans and they're that open about it? Who are they?
Posted by: Harriet Johnson Brackey | March 20, 2009 4:10 PM
Just as you shop for a home or car, figure out who you want to work with. Shop around for the right mortgage broker/loan consultant and compare good faith estimates. It's important to get a comfort level with the consultant you will work with, and ask friends/co-workers for a referral , then complete the application, get the appraisal done and then you will be ready to lock and close.
Posted by: Darlene DiMarco | March 21, 2009 7:11 PM
I concur w/ the facts that everyone wants to take advatange of the ridiculous low rates and the banks are lacking staffs. I live in NJ and I also spoke with my bank (JPMorgan Chase) to start up my process to refinance. Unfortunately, I didn't qualify under their current layout since I own a condominimum, don't have the minimum quity of 25%, things of that nature. However, Chase is currently in the process of digesting Obama's plan which will eliminate the minimum equity one needs to refinance. They've included my name under their list and will follow up with me sometimes mid-April. Hopefully, the rate will be as low or even lower than what the currently rate is which is 4.75 (buying .75 pts).
Posted by: John | March 30, 2009 1:44 PM