Mortgage Refinance Tips

Philadelphia Refinance Help was created to share valuable insight and to help you whether you are thinking of the purchase of your first home, or if you are already a home owner and are simply looking for assistance with your Philadelphia refinance. We sincerely hope you will find the information here helpful in your quest.

It’s amazing…  Mortgage rates are lower than 5% – but how can you get the best refinancing deal?

Everyone has been asking how to secure these low, low mortgage rates. And many people are having a hard time even getting through to their lender on the phone. They’re pretty frustrated.

An expert in the mortgage market who works for Fannie Mae believes that it might take a full 3 months to get the industry back to firing on all cylinders. His expectations are to see interest rates for home mortgages to stay in the neighborhood of 4.75% to 5.25% for the rest of the year.The thing to remember is that while there will be a lot of people trying to get loans through the system, slowing everything down, the chances are good that you won’t miss out on these low rates as they look like they’ll be here for a while.

Some things to remember

Recognize what a unique opportunity this is.

There are no 2 ways about it – this is a great opportunity. 30-year fixed mortgage rates are at 4.6%. Historically, that rate is 8%. And that is significant.  Let’s take a closer look for a moment. First, let’s take a 30 year fixed mtg at 4.6%. If you took out a 30-year fixed loan of $170, 300 (this is about average for a home loan across the US) if your interest rate was 5%, you would be paying roughly $915.And at 8% you would pay $1,250. What do the savings add up to? Three hundred thirty five dollars per month; that’s about $4000 a year.

Be wary

We’ve told you it might take longer to get a refinance now. That’s just something you’re going to need to accept.And another thing; according to bankrate.com, Freddie and Fannie have raised their fees.  So you could be paying extra fees of 1% or 2% of the loan amount, and sometimes even higher on top of all other closing costs

Locate the most competitive rate

Today, one of the biggest issues for people is having enough equity in their home.These days you’ll need at least 20% equity to get the best rates.

Another thing you’ll want to do is make sure your credit score remains as high as possible. Make sure you have a look at a copy of your credit report to be certain there aren’t any mistakes on it. You can get a copy of it for free at annualcreditreport.com.

Shop around to get the best rate from a top caliber mortgage company. Make sure to have all your paperwork ready for you lender in advance. Here’s a list of what you’ll need to start collecting:

A complete application, your tax returns from the most recent two years, pay stubs for the past month, three months of asset statements (checking, savings, mutual funds), your most recent mortgage statement and a copy of the deed.

For your own best interest, please consider doing these things as you prepare for your Philadelphia refinance or purchase loan, and you will most likely be in as good a shape as possible to get what you are looking for as the process moves forward.