Sharon in SC Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 If you're in a position to benefit from refinancing your home and have been monitoring the trend on rates, when do you think you'll lock in on your new rate? Dh and I need to decide whether to lock in today at 4.65% (our current loan is at 6.5%) or hold out as some feel the Feds may lower prime even more than anticipated tomorrow. Please share your thoughts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plucky Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 That's the big question. We aren't quite ready to lock. Our VA refi is at 5%. I want it a little lower. How low will it go? I want it as low as possible and don't know where it will bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 Are refi's going to work right now with home values so much lower? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon in SC Posted December 15, 2008 Author Share Posted December 15, 2008 Are refi's going to work right now with home values so much lower? I'm not sure what you're asking. I do know that we could lock in today at 4.65% from our current 6.5%. All we have to do is say the word. I can say, too, that our home value has not been lowered as other areas of the country have. Our region has actually seen about a 1% increase in value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plucky Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 That will affect some people. We bought on the downswing and values here haven't fallen since. People with equity will benefit from low rates. There may be something coming though for those with a home that is worth less than they owe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon in SC Posted December 15, 2008 Author Share Posted December 15, 2008 That's the big question..... I want it a little lower. How low will it go? I want it as low as possible and don't know where it will bottom. That's dh's stance. Personally, I think I'm about to say a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush but dh, in reading today's news, feels there's a great chance the rates will go lower so I think he's voting to hold out.....decision, decisions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highereducation Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 I've been watching and waiting, too.... A few days ago on one of the news shows there were a few "experts" (using the term loosely because I have no idea what their actual resumes were!). The best projection that they could come up with was that the rates would go to 4% and no lower. That's a tough call if you have to lock in right away. I suggested to dh that we contact our mortgage co. about starting a refinance. He wants to wait because he thinks there will be a further lowering of rates by the middle of next year, and our co. will only allow a no-cost refi every 18 months or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon in SC Posted December 15, 2008 Author Share Posted December 15, 2008 I've been watching and waiting, too.... A few days ago on one of the news shows there were a few "experts" (using the term loosely because I have no idea what their actual resumes were!). The best projection that they could come up with was that the rates would go to 4% and no lower. That's a tough call if you have to lock in right away. I suggested to dh that we contact our mortgage co. about starting a refinance. He wants to wait because he thinks there will be a further lowering of rates by the middle of next year, and our co. will only allow a no-cost refi every 18 months or so. We don't have to do anything. We just have to decide when we want to call it and make it official. :-) The thing is, for us, if we locked in today we'd begin saving $200-$300 PER MONTH over our current mortgage rate. (a refinance at 4% would save us another $100 or so/month). Today's rates represent a significant monthly gain/payment on additional principle of loan. The longer we wait, the more we pay on our mortgage unnecessarily even at today's rates..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 We have a hometown bank that has been good to us and they are not lowering their rates. We don't mind, though. If they stay in business, it is worth it to us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon in SC Posted December 17, 2008 Author Share Posted December 17, 2008 If you're in a position to benefit from refinancing your home and have been monitoring the trend on rates, when do you think you'll lock in on your new rate? Dh and I need to decide whether to lock in today at 4.65% (our current loan is at 6.5%) or hold out as some feel the Feds may lower prime even more than anticipated tomorrow. Please share your thoughts! Well, we decided last night to refinance now. We can buy down to 4.5% which will mean a guaranteed $50K+ savings on our loan. If we held off *hoping* for a better rate (no better than 4%, most likely) we'd be holding out for an additional $12K at best. We've decided a bird in the hand (in this case, $50K) is better than two in the bush (max of another $12K if the rates did go down to 4%). FWIW, :-). Thanks for helping me brainstorm, ladies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 Well, we decided last night to refinance now. We can buy down to 4.5% which will mean a guaranteed $50K+ savings on our loan. If we held off *hoping* for a better rate (no better than 4%, most likely) we'd be holding out for an additional $12K at best. We've decided a bird in the hand (in this case, $50K) is better than two in the bush (max of another $12K if the rates did go down to 4%). FWIW, :-). Thanks for helping me brainstorm, ladies! Good for you! We have a 5.125% and had talked about refinancing to build a shop and pool if rates get low enough...now that they are low, the economy is so scary I am afraid we should just hold tight. Savings from 5.125 down to 4% would not be significant for JUST the balance on our mortgage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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