Home owners are getting back to the basics, with Freddie Mac reporting that, for mortgages it funded in the first quarter of 2011, nearly 95 percent of refis were into fixed-rate loans. While fixed-rate loans aren’t for everyone, and there are still plenty of cases where an adjustable-rate loan (ARM) is a smart move, there’s [...]
It was reported recently that Michael Jackson, the artist formerly known as “the King of Pop,” was looking to refinance the mortgage on his infamous Neverland Valley Ranch. It just goes to show–if someone who has sold tens of millions of records can have trouble making his mortgage payments, the average American shouldn’t feel so [...]
With all the talk about falling mortgage rates, you may be wondering whether refinancing could save you money. Ultimately, you’ll want to run the details through a mortgage calculator to find out for sure whether refinancing make sense. However, before you go to all the trouble of researching the particulars, you can use history as [...]
The arguments for and against refinancing existing consumer debt into a home equity loan are readily made. There are fundamental differences between home equity loans and consumer debt. However, beyond the characteristics of each form of debt, there is an impact on borrower behavior that might be a strong argument in favor of refinancing. So, [...]
If you have bad credit, you may still qualify for refinancing. Mortgage lenders typically adhere to certain credit guidelines, but these can be more flexible than expected. For example, if you’ve filed bankruptcy, and your debts were discharged by the bankruptcy court more than two years ago, you may qualify for standard mortgage terms. Another [...]
