My question is should I refinance to get a fixed rate even if the rate is not lower than what i have

my husband and I have an adjustable rate which is going up in oct 2007 we have had some credit issues and have tried to refiance to get a lower rate than we have, we have been turned down and now have been offered an opportunity to refiance to get a fixed 30year loan but at the same rate.. with closing costs it just doesn%26#039;t seem wise to me to do that and not lower our interest rate.

I rather sell.. please any suggestions

My question is should I refinance to get a fixed rate even if the rate is not lower than what i have.?

Even if the rate is the same now, it won%26#039;t be in a few months. If your ARM is due to adjust in October, you can almost guarantee that your rate will adjust up and not down. Refinance now and lock in a fixed rate. Even if it%26#039;s the same as what you currently have, it will save you money in the long run. Good luck!

My question is should I refinance to get a fixed rate even if the rate is not lower than what i have.?

Well, at least if you refinanced with your current rate you wouldnt have to worry about the adjustable rate skyrocketing in the near future...

You can look into buying/selling, but you may very well end up with a crappier rate on your new mortgage depending on when your credit troubles occurred...

My question is should I refinance to get a fixed rate even if the rate is not lower than what i have.?

Have you only spoken with one lender? I would talk to 2 or 3 and find out what they can do. I am a loan officer myself and I%26#039;ll be completely honest with you. There is always a way around everything. Alot of loan officers are just too lazy to put in the work or effort. How many points are they trying to charge you? If it as anymore than 2.. walk away. They thing about the adjustable rate is that it can change as many times as it wants. While the prices are going down right now, it won%26#039;t be this way forever and there is no garauntee that if you hold out they will continue to go down. And it is a buyers market right now. My advice to you would be to talk to a few different lenders. Ask for a copy of your credit report from the LO you have already spoken to so that you will not have to run your credit again. Everytime your credit is ran it lowers your score. What state are you in? I might be able to help you. You can email me directly at amy_albert_2007@yahoo.com

My question is should I refinance to get a fixed rate even if the rate is not lower than what i have.?

well interest rates are forecasted to increase in the following years. so youll end up paying more. unless you want to sell your property if was purchased like over 10 years ago because im pretty sure you would have profited from the sale and have a profit and untied salary from financialing the mortgage so you can purchase a cheaper property.

My question is should I refinance to get a fixed rate even if the rate is not lower than what i have.?

I am a certified mortgage planner.

Here is what I would recommend.

You need to know what your new payment is going to be?

Can you afford it? How do you tell.

Your mortgage paperwork will tell you what the adjustment % is - usually 2%, then every 6-12 months it will adjust again (usually 1 %) Now according to the contract it can go up or down, but in the current market, it isn%26#039;t going down! You will usually cap at 6% above what you originally had.

Now just for giggles do the math...

at 6% on a 100K loan your payment is $599.55.

at 8% that payment is $733.76

at 12 % that payment is $1028.61

that does not include taxes and insurance and this is $100,000. I don%26#039;t know what your mortgage amount is. And you can be completely capped out by October 2009.

Now you know what you are up against in terms of the mortgage.

Now let%26#039;s talk about closing costs. You need to educate yourself in what that consists of.

1. You have a fee for the loan officer to do the loan - I charge 2% (my client can pay it or the lender can pay it - I don%26#039;t care, my clients decide based on rate and costs out of pocket or that have to be rolled into the mortgage). Remember that we don%26#039;t work for free (neither do you), but it should be a reasonable charge for what the LO is doing for you.

2. Appraisal - my clients pay this out of pocket, since I don%26#039;t ask my appraisers to work for free. And I don%26#039;t want to pay it myself. Should be about $250-$300.

3. You may see a brokers fee (sometimes you see this and the LO%26#039;s fee. You shouldn%26#039;t pay both. You decide.

4. Application Fee - it is another fee you may or may not see, but my broker charges me one, I just pay for it from my fees.

5. Underwriting fee - this is the charge from the bank that is funding your loan. It varies and is a fee that is out of the LO%26#039;s hands.

6. Title fees and insurance - another 3rd party expense. If you have the original title work from when you bought the house, and you use that title company again, often you can get a better discount on the cost.

7. escrows - are not a fee, but they are part of closing costs. If you escrow - it will be included in the costs. If you don%26#039;t it won%26#039;t. There are pros and cons to escrow.

8. Recording fee - the charge for the title company to record the mortgage, not negotiable. It is usually a fixed fee.

9. Misc Fees - flood cert (required to determine whether you are in a flood plain or not), credit report fee, etc. I do not personally charge my clients for these. They should be minimal and they are a waste of paper in my opinion.

One other thing is the prepayment penalty - if you have one, make sure you know what it is (and how long it lasts) if you are thinking about refinancing.

Now take those approximates and decide whether it makes sense for you to remortgage into a 30 year rate. Maybe if you want to lower the payment look at a 40 year loan. The rate might be a 1/8th higher, but it is spread over 40 years. 6.125% over 40 years on a $100K is $558.95 (just for illustration).

If you want any help - or just need some more questions answered, please let me know. I may not be licensed in your state (I don%26#039;t know where you are), but the rules of mortgage don%26#039;t change much from state to state.

As far as selling - again depending on your market, this may be an option. But if you love your home and a few thousand dollars stands between you and a fixed rate mortgage, why not look a bit deeper.

I can be of help as to what you can do with your credit between now and October, we don%26#039;t do credit repair (that is a big scam) but we do analysis and can give you some ideas of some things you can do to improve scores in 30-60 days.

I wish you the best

Nichole

517-749-0961

nichole@help2buyhomes.com

My question is should I refinance to get a fixed rate even if the rate is not lower than what i have.?

Ask your lender about buying down the rate.

Must banks will let one buy it down by 1%.

Ask for a 40 year term.

My question is should I refinance to get a fixed rate even if the rate is not lower than what i have.?

Selling might be tough right now too. And if you can get the same rate you have, it beats having your rate jump up 2-3% or more. Most subprime loans would go up to about 11-12% right now when fully adjusted, so what happens after October, 6months after that, 1 year after?

Selling would likely cost twice as much as refinancing. And if you sell, then what? buy a smaller home? Rent?

I%26#039;d suggest you call ACORN.org. You can probably get some unbiased advice for free.