A few years ago I refinanced my mortgage and I ended up with a HELOC for the same value as my mortgage balance, about which I was informed that, for all purposes, it would be equivalent to a new mortgage. Is it so now that with lower interest rates it would be interesting to refinance it again?
TIA
That is going to take a little math to figure out. First, find a loan and find out what the terms are. Then figure out how much it costs to do the refi. Next, figure out how much the new loan will save you. Finally, figure out how long it will take for those savings to pay for the costs. If it is more than 18 months or so, it probably isn't worth it, not unless you are pretty sure that you will be living in that house for the rest of the loan.
-john-
I got an initial estimate for a pretty good rate (less than 4.825%), but once the agent pulled the existing mortgage info, she said that since it's to replace a HELOC, it has to be regarded as a cash out per FM & FM rules (???). Therefore the rate is not as good (5.25%), as well as some fees that she couldn't leave out anymore.
All in all, with 0.5% points up-front, the closing costs will pay themselves in about 2 years. It still seems reasonable, especially for having a regular mortgage again...
Thanks.
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