Refinancing your home is commonly known as mortgage refinancing. Many people refinance their mortgage for better living standards. A mortgage refinance would replace your current home loan with a new one. People in the US do this to reduce their monthly payments or to find out their home equity.
Refinancing mortgage also helps eliminate FHA mortgage insurance or switch from an adjustable-rate loan to a fixed-rate loan.
Here are some important aspects to consider when refinancing your mortgage.
How Does Refinancing Work?
When you buy a new home, you apply for a mortgage to pay off the required amount. The money goes to the seller, and in return, you pay back your financial institute. In the case of mortgage refinancing, you follow the exact same steps as before. This time, the money you get will be used to clear your previous mortgage.
Mortgage refinancing requires you to qualify for the loan and meet the lender’s requirements. These requirements can be a good credit score and, in most cases, a high FICO score.
Have A Clear Financial Goal
There should be a clear reason behind your refinancing. Whether it is to reduce monthly payments, tap into your home equity, or reduce home loan. A clear vision would help you prepare for the future.
If you plan to refinance your mortgage to reduce monthly payments, you should keep in mind that your period would increase. You may succeed in paying less every month, but you will pay more in total because of the interest rate.
Check Your Credit Score
Whenever you apply for a mortgage refinance, your credit score would be checked to ensure you are a safe investment for the lender. Before you go apply for more money, you should proactively check your credit score.
Keeping your credit history in check will tell you whether you would qualify or not. If your credit score is low, you should first try to improve it.
Study Multiple Lenders
Interest rates vary among lenders. If you randomly pick a financial institute and go unplanned, you won’t know what you are getting into. It is best to shop multiple lenders. Once you have picked out the best lender, it’s best to lock in your rates so you won’t have to worry about rates increasing when your loan closes.
Will COVID-19 affect your plans?
Due to the pandemic, your mortgage refinancing might be disturbed. Lenders are facing high loan demands and a shortage of staff members. Hence, the process might slow down. Moreover, many lenders have closed some financial products that may help with refinancing mortgage. So it’s best to wait out this pandemic and wait for the right moment.