Looking to refi our house. Who's got the best rates around? Any brokers you would recommend?

How is your credit score? Money is still pretty tight and if you looking for an LTV greater than 80% and you score is sub-700 good luck. Underwriting rules are tougher than ever. Do you have a home equity loan, too? That makes things even toughter. You can still get a loan, but the rates will be higher. No one is doing NINA loans and appraisals are very strictly controlled.

Your best bet is to shop around, both online and locally, to see what you can find, but if you have a weak credit score you might want to work on that first. These rates should stick around for a while since there is little pressure from the Fed to make any changes. We have a 5/1 ARM set to adjust in September and it looks like our payment is going DOWN as a result of a lower index.

Screw mortgages!

I paid my 30 year mortgage off in 11 years just by sending in a little extra every month. And my wealth has grown every year as a result...I have to move thousands out of my checking account every year into better investments. Your money just piles up without that damned house note.

So put off the fancy cars, big TVs and other depreciating assets and pay that mortgage off. Ten years after paying my mortgage off I can buy any toy I want and pay cash for it.

Don't worry about what the fucking neighbors think! They'll envy your debt-free lifestyle.

Or to put the above poster's advice a little more nicely, pick up a copy of Rich Dad, Poor Dad.

The OP already has a house and is looking to refinance so the above poster's comment is off-topic for the thread anyway, but years ago I was able to accelerate the reduction of my mortgage balance by refinancing to a lower rate and putting the difference every month into principal reduction. Refinancing can be a tool to a quicker paydown but it depends on how much lower the rate is, closing costs, etc. If one is refinancing because they cannot afford the loan as it exists, then better to sell the property and buy into a lower-cost property that is affordable.

coffin Wrote:
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> So put off the fancy cars, big TVs and other
> depreciating assets and pay that mortgage off.



You consider cars and tvs your assets???

native/ Wrote:
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> coffin Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > So put off the fancy cars, big TVs and other
> > depreciating assets and pay that mortgage off.
>
>
>
> You consider cars and tvs your assets???


Why yes, so does Webster's dictionary. Any item of value=an asset

But, of course, cars and TVs, etc usually depreciate to the point that they have no value. That's why I was urging the OP not to mortgage the house to purchase shit that will be gone before the loan is payed off. (Most refinancers cannot resist taking a little cash out)

Here are some guidelines in your search for a refi:
http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/mortgage/mortb_1.htm

Hope this is of some helpl.

Score is high 700's so should be fine. LTV is good too. Seems rates been going up. Understand it's pegged to the 10yr note. Can anyone explain why it's going up?

It's inflation. Rates go up as banks see the dollar declining.

Money Marketing Inc., a mortgage broker, works with over 80 lenders and can do legit loans for customers with credit scores down to 580-no kidding.

Rates heading up still. Any thoughts if it'll dip back down? Thinking I could wait a week or two (more really) but don't want it to run up. Thoughts?

Refi Wrote:
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> Rates heading up still. Any thoughts if it'll dip
> back down? Thinking I could wait a week or two
> (more really) but don't want it to run up.
> Thoughts?

With rates as low as they are they're still a bargain compared to past
market fluctuations. Some of the smartest financial moves I've ever
made were in real estate. On the other hand, some of the dumbest things
I've ever done were in real estate. The dumb moves were when I didnt
buy when rates were low. (Passed on a Capitol Hill townhouse, three
blocks from the Capitol building for $17,500) That townhouse is probably
worth over a mill now. I strongly recommend a fixed rate. Back in the
80's I watched half the people in my condo bldg go through foreclosure
due to rates between 17-18%. IMHO, ARM's should be outlawed.

I thought of doing a principal reduction scheme with a lower rate mortgage, but 10 years ago secured a 15 year mortgage at 4.25%. I have received marketing calls from mortgage originators and abruptly ask - look - I am 10 years into a 15 year, 4.25% mortgage - under what circumstances could you possibly justify a refinancing? The call ends.

I say this because there are very few moments in finance where the choice is so clear that a decision is compelled without much to ponder - entering a 15 year mortgage at rates lower than my parents in the 60's made sense.

I figure they have to keep the rates low (even artificially) if they're going to recover from this Housing mess. Especially with the bailout of Bear Stearns, they can't seem like they wouldn't be willing to help main street.