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If you have a mortgage and you have been keeping an eye on the interest rates lately you are likely to have shed your share of tears. Interest rates in some cases have dropped by over 2% which means thousands and thousands of dollars extra interest you shouldn’t have to pay. You obviously would like a piece of the action and reduce your interest rate, who wouldn’t?
Now that sounds all very good but is it realistic to think you can save money on your mortgage by changing your mortgage to the current interest rates? It depends, it is possible to change mortgages to a lower interest rate and that can save you a lot of money, but it is also true that modifying your mortgage could also be an expensive and uneconomic move for you.
So what are the expenses, the real cost of low interest mortgage refinancing.
Prepayment penalties. These are often the mother of all mortgage refinancing expenses. Lenders often “protect “ their interests and avoid clients changing to cheaper loans by inserting clauses in mortgages that establish that paying the mortgage early (and not paying a whole lot if interest in the process) incurs a penalty to compensate the lender. The penalties can vary from a percentage of the amount of the principal paid to a fixed amount like 6 months interest payments upfront. Check carefully what interest rates you must pay before deciding to change mortgage provider.
Application fees.
The current economic crises that has caused so many to lose their income and consequently their homes has also had the effect of jumpstarting a new industry, loan modification advisors. These companies will ride you over the rocky terrain of loan modifications. Most of us don’t need them as the steps you need to take are rather simple. Whatever you choose to do remember they cannot guarantee you any outcome and that they can’t do anything you couldn’t for your own interests.
Title search, inspections and surveys.
The costs linked to mortgage refinancing and loan modifications are rather large. One should expect to pay anything between 3 to 6 percent of the outstanding principal in setup fees. This will include the survey of a qualified inspector that will determine if your home is still sound and therefore a good investment.
Title surveys, check the accuracy and availability of the titles attached to a home or property. Some banks will also ask for insect infestations and other smaller issues before agreeing to the loan.
These are just a small sample of the fees you will have to face. It is important that we compare our income, the c of loan modification and the savings the loan mod will provide. Do yourself a favor and check the real cost before signing.
Last 3 posts by Andrew
- Mortgage Modification Crackdown: Operation Loan Lies - August 10th, 2009
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