Now is the time to refinance your mortgage. Options have never been for refinancing. Changes in the market and government programs have made it possible for everyone to refinance.
HARP - Home Affordable Refinance Program - was created in 2009 but was very hard to qualify for. In December of 2011 HARP 2.0 came out with many changes that opened this program up to almost everyone.
Even if you are upside down on your house your loan to value ratio doesn't matter with HARP 2.0. Original version of the program only helped people with a loan to value ratio of 125% or less. The new version is designed for people with a ratio greater than 125%.
Antoher major change is that the program is now open for investment propertires and second homes. Previously restricted to owner oppcupied primary residence.
Here are 5 tips on refinancing your home:
1.Preparation: You may save a lot of time if you are prepared. Before you think of refinancing your home, you must clear all your credit report. You must clear all your credit report as when the lender looks at your financial condition, he must be impressed and he should be ready to refinance your house. You must collect all your financial information such as pay stubs, tax returns, bank statements and so on. You have to find out the current mortgage balance. You must do a various research and find out the current mortgage balance. 2.Find out the quotes offered by the various companies and various lenders: You must go to many mortgage companies and collect the information regarding the interest rates and price offered by them. Different companies have different interest rates. You must also go to lenders and find out their interest rates. After collecting the information, you have to compare it and select the one which you are comfortable with. No pain no gain, as per the saying, you have to work hard and gather the information, then only you can get benefits from it.3.Beware of some mortgage brokers: Mortgage brokers may get the price quotes and get commission from you. They will also get commission from the mortgage company if they make you agree to pay higher interest than what you are supposed to pay. So you must beware of such mortgage brokers and try to spend some amount of time and find the price quotes on your own. You can also take help of some reputable brokers who will never cheat anyone.4.Do not over borrow the money: It is easy get more money than what you actually need. But you must also know that you are the one who should pay back the amount that you are borrowing. So you have to borrow only the amount that you actually need else you are the one who will be facing many problems.5.Fulfill your responsibilities: You must maintain a good credit score in order to have a good image. For this, you have to pay all your credit bills and other payments on time. Having a good credit score will have a good impact on the lenders. You must always check the lock-in dates for the interest rate on your new loan to assure that you close before the rate expires. You must always produce all the documents when asked.
