Refinancing Mortgages? - what's the average?
With all the talk of the jumbo loan limit increasing to $729K, I wanted to gauge the average time brownstoners refi their mortgages. I bought my PS house in 2003 with a 5 year Jumbo ARM at 5.75%. I refinanced in 2007 as I was in need of $40K to pay for my wedding and…
With all the talk of the jumbo loan limit increasing to $729K,
I wanted to gauge the average time brownstoners refi their mortgages.
I bought my PS house in 2003 with a 5 year Jumbo ARM at 5.75%. I refinanced in 2007 as I was in need of $40K to pay for my wedding and thought let me refi while the rates are still “low” as my ARM was going to expire in 2008. However the refi left me with a montly payment that’s almost $400 more than what I was paying. I currently owe $620K on the house(it was appraised at 1.2mil)
Anyway – do you think I should try to refi again? Does it seem weird/bad/high/ if someone does 2 refis in 5 years???
first question should be what is your current rate?
do you want an arm or fixed? If you plan on keeping the property a few years and the monthly savings is substantial then why not? i’ll pay some of your closing costs out of my pocket and might be able to get your mortgage tax waived… send me your name and work number and I’ll contact you. jayrhee@gmail.com
Its dumb to pay $40k for a wedding.
Agree with 12:28. Dumb to use the house to finance your $40k wedding too.
Why do you keep doing 5 yr ARMs if you are going to stay in the house and your situation is expected to stay the same? Unless you expect to move or make more or get another inheritance in 5 years, you are not the person who 5 yr ARMs were designed for. If you can’t afford the rate on the 30yr fixed, you can’t afford your house.
no wonder america is in trouble when people use their houses as piggy banks to be raided for any need.
Anyway I have a feeling that if you refinance (which is no “strike” against you) you will find no lower monthly payment. Only in a few places (mainly CA) have conforming limits stretched to 700k but more importantly banks will look far more closely at your situation (income and assets) than they did last time. It sounds like you are financially hand to mouth? don’t be surprised if you can’t get anywhere near the headline mortgage rates advertised on sites.
if your fico is great then try for a libor+spread floating rate mortgage and save like crazy while the rates are low. Then pay down and refinance fixed if the economy recovers and fed raised rates 50 bp. By then banks will be more willing to lend than now as presumably they will have stopped bleeding, but that could be a year or two away – and you’ll be paying really low rates in the meantime.
9:18 – because I bought the house when it was 850K in 2003 with money I received from an inheritance….
so is it safe to assume that most of Park Slope is making over $200K? last time I checked the median income was $55K
Don’t want to sound like an ass but if you’re not making $200k why did you buy a house that was appraised for $1.2mil?
thanks 5:39 I think I was so in need of cash to pay for the wedding, that once it was all said and done and realized 2 months past refinancing I was in fact paying more than I was at the start.
and 7:17 – I am not a mortgage broker……
i wanted to see what others in bklyn nabes are doing. I am probably like many of you where I don’t make $200K a year but was curious to see how people were making it all work…..