Category: Refinance (Page 4 of 10)

It’s Time To Seriously Consider a Refinance

April 8, 2019 / Tom Bonetto

Tapping into home equity by refinancing is more of a possibility today and becoming very popular for many borrowers.

As interest rates have moved lower in the last 3 weeks and housing values across the country continue to steadily increase, homeowners now have access to a much larger source of equity and possibly better payment terms!

With current mortgage rates low and home equity on the rise, many think it’s a perfect time to refinance your mortgage to save not only on your overall monthly payments, but your overall interest costs as well.

It’s really about managing the overall assets that you have in order to maximize the returns. Make sure you are working with the right mortgage lender to help in figuring out which product is best.

What is a Cash-Out Refinance?

A mortgage refinance happens when the homeowner gets a new loan to replace the current mortgage. A cash-out refinance happens when the borrower refinances for more than the amount owed on their existing home loan. The borrower takes the difference in cash.

Rates Are Down and Home Equity is Up

Since rising home values are returning lost equity to many homeowners, refinancing can make a good deal of sense with even a small difference in your interest rate. Homeowners now have options to do many things with the difference.

More home equity also means you won’t need to bring cash to the table to refinance. Furthermore, interest rates can be slightly lower when your loan-to-value ratio drops below 80 percent.

Here’s what many of my customers are doing with that equity:

Consolidate higher interest debt
Eliminate mortgage insurance
Purchase a 2^nd Home or Investment Property (or a combination of both)
Home Improvement – upgrades to kitchen, roof, or pool

Benefits of Cash-out Refinances

Free Up Cash – A cash-out refinance is a way to access money you already have in your home to pay off big bills such as college tuition, medical expenses, new business funding or home improvements. It often comes at a more attractive interest rate than those on unsecured personal loans, student loans or credit cards.

Improve your debt profile – Using a refinance to reduce or consolidate credit card debt is also a great reason for a cash-out refinance. We can look at the weighted average interest rate on a borrower’s credit cards and other liabilities to determine whether moving the debt to a mortgage will get them a lower rate. Some borrowers are saving thousands per month by consolidating their debt through their mortgage.

More stable rate – Many borrowers choose to do a cash-out refinance for home improvement projects because they want a steady interest rate instead of an adjustable rate that comes with home equity lines of credit, or HELOCs.

2^nd Home or Investment Property – many borrowers are utilizing the value of the cash in their home to purchase rental properties that cash flow better then the monthly payments of the new loan.

Tax deductions – Unlike credit card interest, mortgage interest payments are tax deductible. That means a cash-out refinance could reduce your taxable income and land you a bigger tax refund.

Reasons NOT to Refinance

Terms and costs – While you may get a lower interest rate than your current mortgage, your cash-out refinance rate will be higher than a regular rate-and-term refinance at market rate. Even if your credit score is 800, you will pay a little bit more, usually an eighth of a percentage point higher, than a purchase mortgage. Generally, closing costs are added to the balance of the new loan, as well.

Paperwork headache – Borrowers need to gather many of the same documents they did when they first got their home loan. Lenders will generally require the past 2 years of tax returns, past 2 years of W-2 forms, 30 days’ worth of pay stubs, and possibly more, depending on your situation.

Enabling bad habits – If you’re doing a cash-out refinance to pay off credit card debt, you’re freeing up your credit limit. Avoid falling back into bad habits and running up your cards again.

The Bottom Line

A cash-out refinance can make sense if you can get a good interest rate on the new loan and have a good use for the money.

Using the money to purchase a rental property, fund a home renovation or consolidate debt can rebuild the equity you’re taking out or help you get in a better financial position.

With that said, seeking a refinance to fund vacations or a new car might not be that great of an idea, because you’ll have little to no return on your money.

It would be my pleasure to see if this type of plan might be a good one for you.

Debt Consolidation Refinance – Estimate Your Monthly Savings

December 1, 2018 / Tom Bonetto

Featured Image: Jake Rustenhoven (gotcredit.com), Flickr

Tapping into home equity with a mortgage refinance is becoming very popular for many borrowers.

Many borrowers can now save hundreds, possibly thousands on their overall monthly payments by consolidating debt inside of a new mortgage.

As housing values across the country have appreciated nearly 35% over the last 5 years, homeowners now have access to a much larger source of equity.

With current mortgage rates still historically low and home equity on the rise, it’s a perfect time to refinance your mortgage to save not only on your overall monthly payments, but your overall interest costs as well – and take best advantage of today’s tax implications.

Improve Your Debt Profile

Using a refinance to reduce or consolidate other debt like credit cards, student loans, home-equity lines, and car payments is a great reason for a cash-out refinance.

We can look at the weighted average interest rate on a borrower’s credit cards and other liabilities to determine whether moving the debt to a mortgage will get them a lower rate. Some borrowers are saving thousands per month by consolidating their debt through their mortgage.

An Example

Let’s assume that you purchased your home 6 years ago (or longer) for $270,000 and you currently have a little less than $200,000 remaining on your existing mortgage.

Well, that home today may well be worth in excess of $350,000!

Even if you’ve refinanced since and have an interest rate in the 4% range, if you have any other sources of debt, a refinance will most likely result in a large monthly savings.

Debt List

Let’s assume you have a debt list that looks something like this – or a combination of similar liabilities:

A few credit cards, a car payment, and a student loan (or even a home-equity line of credit) can easily total nearly $50,000 overall and over $1,000 per month. Many of the customers that work with me are in situations very similar to the one listed above.

New Payment and Monthly Savings

So, when you combine all of your liabilities into the mortgage, here’s what your new overall payment looks like:

Note that the monthly savings is nearly $900 per month!!

New Loan

Here’s what a new refinanced loan might look like:

Your loan amount has increased by about $50,000 – and your mortgage interest rate has also increase by over 1.25%. However, your OVERALL interest rate of all debt will most likely be similar to where you are today (assuming credit card debt is more like 15% or more). Also, you will only have one payment to manage – versus balancing multiple payments.

Better Options

Now, let’s do a little more math…

Let’s say you take that $900 in savings every month and apply it to the new mortgage:

That’s right – you would save $55,000 over the life of the loan and reduce your number of payments by 213! You would be turning your 30-year mortgage into a 12.25 year version.

The numbers are staggering. One other thing to do would be to check with your CPA or financial advisor, as the interest on the new loan would most likely be tax deductible, whereas any home equity lines and credit card interest are generally not tax deductible.

Please do reach out to me right away and we can take a look at your current scenario to see if a refinance might be a good option for you, as it would be my privilege to help!

Homeowners See Biggest Equity Increase in 4 Years – Another Great Reason to Buy or Refinance

April 9, 2018 / Tom Bonetto

Rising home prices might be a little frustrating for would-be buyers right now.

But let’s take a look what’s happening for those who already own a home to see the true benefits of ownership. Home equity increases are being seen throughout the country – and this bodes well for the economy – and those who purchase or refinance a home in the coming months.

According to new data from CoreLogic, the average homeowner saw their home equity jump by more than $15,000 last year alone – the biggest increase since 2013.

Aly Yale at The Mortgage Reports has put together a fantastic piece – see the entire article here.

It Pays to Own Your Home

According to CoreLogic’s recent Home Equity Report, American homeowners saw a 12 percent year-over-year jump in equity from 2016 to 2017. Though the average homeowner gained $15K in equity for the year, in some states, it rose as high as $44,000.

Frank Nothaft, CoreLogic’s chief economist, credits rising home prices for the uptick in equity.

“Home price growth has been the primary driver of home equity wealth creation,” Nothaft said. “The average growth in home equity was more than $15,000 during 2017, the most in four years.”

Though increased equity certainly spells good news for existing homeowners, it also bodes well for the country’s economy at large.

“Because wealth gains spur additional consumer purchases, the rise in home equity wealth during 2017 should add more than $50 billion to U.S. consumer spending over the next two to three years,” Nothaft said.

What This Means For Today’s Buyers

Owning a house provides the owner with a valuable asset and financial stability. By purchasing a home, you’ll have an asset that, in most cases, will appreciate in value over time. A $200,000 home today should see an increase in value to $250,000, $300,000, or more—depending on how long you plan to live there and market conditions.

This makes your home one of the best investments you can make and a way to establish a financial foundation for future generations (aka your kids).

A home can be the ultimate nest egg, providing you with a great investment for retirement. The longer you own your home, the more it should eventually be worth.

As you get older, you can sell the home and use the proceeds to purchase or rent something smaller. Another option: Rent out the house to maintain a steady income stream so you can travel or use for other recreational activities.

Why Now?

Despite rising home prices, American housing is actually quite affordable – and now is really a good time to make that purchase.

According to the latest Real House Price Index from First American Title, today’s home buyers have “historically high levels of house-purchasing power.”

And though real home prices increased 5 percent over the year, they’re still 37.7 percent below their 2006 peak. They’re also more than 16 percent below 2000’s numbers.

Because mortgage rates are lower than historical averages, home-buying power is up. Find out more regarding home affordability here….

The Refinance Market

As housing values across the country continue to steadily increase, homeowners now have access to a much larger source of equity.

More home equity also means you won’t need to bring cash to the table to refinance. Furthermore, interest rates can be slightly lower when your loan-to-value ratio drops below 80 percent. Find out more about the new refinance movement here…

It would be my privilege to help would-be-buyers or refinancers understand the current marketplace and the loan options that can help you own a part of the American dream!

April 2, 2018 / Tom Bonetto

That House Will Probably Cost More The Longer You Wait

Today’s potential home buyers have many questions about local real estate markets and how it relates to the purchase of a new home. The one I hear the most is:

‘Does it make sense to buy a house in now, or would it be better to wait until next year?’

Click on the video above to find out more,

Well, there are some things we just can’t predict with certainty, and that includes future housing costs….however,

most economists and forecasters agree that home values will likely continue to rise throughout 2018 and into 2019. Secondly, these same experts also predict that interest rates will continue to rise.

Houses Are INCREASING in Value and Are Getting More Expensive

As usual, it’s a story of supply and demand. There is a high level of demand for housing in cities across the country, but there’s not enough inventory to meet it. As a result, home buyers in who delay their purchases until 2019 will likely encounter higher housing costs.

According to Zillow, the real estate information company, the median home value for Arizona increased to over $233,000 – a year-over-year increase of 6.7%. In California, the median home value is over $465,000 – an increase of 8.8%. Looking forward, the company’s economists expect the median to rise by another nearly 5% over the next 12 months. This particular forecast projects into the first quarter of 2019.

Other forecasters have echoed this sentiment. There appears to be broad consensus that home values across the country will likely continue to rise over the coming months.

The Supply and Demand for Housing

It is the supply and demand imbalance that’s the primary factor in influencing home prices. So it’s vitally important for home buyers to understand these market conditions.

Most real estate markets, including California and Arizona are experiencing a supply shortage. Inventory is falling short of demand, and that puts upward pressure on home values.

Economists and housing analysts say that a balanced real estate market has somewhere around 5 to 6 months worth of supply. In both California and Arizona today, that figure is in the 2.5 to 3 month range. Clearly, these markets are much tighter than normal, from an inventory standpoint. This is true for other parts of the nation as well, where inventory levels are in the 4-month range.

Interest Rates

There has been a slow increase in interest rates since September of 2017 – and a quicker jump in the last few months. Bond markets haven’t seen pressures like this in over 4 years – and things are trending higher.

Many investors believe inflation is bound to tick up if the labor market continues to improve, and some market indicators suggest inflation expectations have been climbing in recent months.

This is a general reflection better economic data, rising energy prices and the passage of sweeping tax cuts. Many think could provide a further boost to the economy – giving consumers more money at their disposal.

If positive labor and economic news keep pouring out (as most analysts believe things will continue to improve), then the prospect of inflation will put pressure on bonds and interest rates.

The Federal Reserve has suggested that they will have 3 to 4 interest rate increases in 2018, and most experts see a .5% to 1% overall increase in mortgage rates this year.

In Conclusion

So, let’s take a look at our original question: Does it make sense to buy a home in 2018, or is it better to wait until 2019?

Current trends suggest that home buyers who delay their purchases until later this year or next will most likely encounter higher housing costs. All of these trends and forecasts make a good case for buying a home sooner rather than later. Please reach out to me for more, as it would be my privilege to help!

The New Refinance Movement

November 12, 2017 / Tom Bonetto

Tapping into home equity by refinancing is more of a possibility today and becoming very popular for many borrowers.

As housing values across the country continue to steadily increase, homeowners now have access to a much larger source of equity.

It’s really about managing the overall assets that you have in order to maximize the returns. Make sure you are working with the right mortgage lender to help in figuring out which product is best.

Cash-out refinance – what is it?

Home Equity is on the Rise

More home equity also means you won’t need to bring cash to the table to refinance. Furthermore, interest rates can be slightly lower when your loan-to-value ratio drops below 80 percent.

Here’s what many of my customers are doing with that equity:

Purchase a 2^nd Home or Investment Property (or a combination of both)
Home Improvement – upgrades to kitchen, roof, or pool
Consolidate higher interest debt
Eliminate Mortgage Insurance