Refinancing Your Home

Should you refinance your home mortgage? That's a question many homeowners are asking, given the lower mortgage rates that are currently available.

But how do you decide if refinancing your home makes sense
in your particular case? The answer depends on various factors, including your tax bracket, the length of time you plan to stay in your home, the additional costs and charges you must pay for the refinancing, your age and the amount of home equity you have.

You must also note that there are many ways to refinance your home, or to put it another way—use the equity that you have in your home. For example, a second mortgage loan, a home equity line of credit, a debt consolidation loan, or if you are 62 years old or older, a reverse mortgage may be a viable option.

Before refinancing consider the following:

Have the interest rates have dropped enough to make
the cost of refinancing worthwhile.
Compare the total costs to refinance, as well as interest
rates, to determine if refinancing will save you money.
Generally, the lower the interest rate, the more points
the lending institution will charge.
Shop around for a lender. Ask each for a list of charges
and costs you must pay at closing.
A lower interest rate gives you less interest to deduct on
your income tax, which may increase your tax payments
and decrease the total savings from refinancing.

We provide many articles and resources on our website to help you in determining if refinancing your home is right for you. We invite you to read these articles and explore our resources!