4 Benefits of Refinancing Your Home Mortgage

You've probably heard of the word "mortgage," and you know what it means: a financial instrument that lenders, like banks and credit unions, use to make home loans. 

But did you know that your mortgage can benefit you in ways other than making debt payments? Below are the benefits of refinancing your home mortgage.

Convenience and Increase Home Equity

Many lenders offer refinancing home mortgage options. It's really up to you, but once you have decided on a lender, getting prequalified before visiting the lender is the easiest way to ensure that you are getting what you want. 

Many banks have pre-qualification tools on their websites. Just enter your information, and you get an idea about what you can borrow. 

Other terms of the refinance may include an increase in the value of your home, so you can borrow against this equity to take care of other debts. This is known as a cash-out refinance, and you can use it to pay off consumer debt or even finance home improvements.

Lower Interest Rates

The first thing that homeowners consider when refinancing or selling their homes is how much they can save in interest payments. For example, if you pay 5 percent interest on your current loan, you can refinance a new loan with a lower rate. 

Even if the new rate is higher, the savings will be greater. Moreover, the lower payments will leave you with more to save for retirement or other expenses.

Turn Investment Property Into Owner-Occupied Property

If you own an investment property that you want to turn into an owner-occupied property, refinancing a home mortgage may allow you to switch from an investment mortgage to a conventional mortgage. 

This will allow you to sell the investment property and make a profit. If the new mortgage is an FHA loan, you can still keep your investment property and rent it out.

Lower Your Mortgage Payment

You probably pay more than the amount on your mortgage each month. You might also regularly make extra payments on interest or principal, such as when you first move into the home or take out a 30-year mortgage. 

If you decide to refinance, your new lender may agree to lower principal payments to pay off any outstanding balance. This is known as a principal-reduction refinance.

Refinancing your mortgage is a good way to save money on interest, get a lower payment, or even sell your home with little to no down payment. 

It's also a good option if you need money to pay off debts or make home improvements. You can use the money from a cash-out refinance to make some of these improvements.

Why Now is the Time to Refinance

I know you hear those commercials on the radio and television all the time about why “right now is the best time to refinance”. It’s amazing because it always comes from the same people, and they play the same ad every week of every year. This tells me that they think anytime is the best time to refinance. I actually think that now be may the best, and one of the last times that many people will have the want and ability to do so, and let me explain why.

People have been carrying their toxic interest-only loans for a long time now, those that were fortunate enough to weather the storm and not have to file for bankruptcy. Those loans have come with rising interest rates and payments that have become downright unmanageable. Makes you wonder why they haven’t refinanced already, huh? Well most of them were underwater on their mortgages, until now at least. We have seen home prices steadily rising since last year, and the trend continues even more this year. This means that people actually have the required home equity to refinance whereas in the past they simply did not. Those that still lack the home equity may have additional cash saved up, and improved confidence in the home market, that they are now willing to sink more money into their house in order to pay down their loans more.

Ok, so we know home values are rising, but what about interest rates? Well, interest rates really did reach historic lows last year, and I may never see them that low in my life time again. While rates are up about a point over last year they aren’t quite at a point where it is pricing people out of the market. After all, it’s been a long time since rates were even at this level. While I’m sure you would’ve loved to refinance your home loan last year at those super low rates it probably just wasn’t possible based on your home value. This is exactly why we are now in a the middle of the perfect storm of rising home values and still very low interest rates. In fact, many people can refinance their loans and use the additional money to continue to aggressively pay down their principal loan amounts.

While I don’t think purchasing a house is necessarily for everyone, I do think that refinancing is right for any homeowner who is paying a higher rate than what is available now. There are many low fee refinance options available that will allow homeowners to payback the closing costs within months. There was a point a couple years ago that I refinanced my house three times in a year alone. I was fortunate enough to buy at the downside of the market and have the required equity, but it still shows just how beneficial refinancing can really be. At the very least there are plenty of loan calculators available to you online, and plenty of loan officers willing to help you decide the right path for you.