Comments on: To Refinance Or Not To Refinance http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/2009/05/to-refinance-or-not-to-refinance.html Finances transformed by faith Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:12:43 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: Kelly Rusk http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/2009/05/to-refinance-or-not-to-refinance.html/comment-page-1#comment-6041 Kelly Rusk Tue, 05 May 2009 16:55:26 +0000 http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/?p=3209#comment-6041 Hi Jessica, Great post & thanks for mentioning SmartHippo! I also wanted to make mention of our new SmartHippo Answers... If you have a question about the refi process (or anything about mortgages in general) check out http://www.smarthippo.com/answers to ask. Like Yahoo! Answers anyone can ask/answer but we also have some experts on hand to jump in when needed. Hi Jessica,

Great post & thanks for mentioning SmartHippo! I also wanted to make mention of our new SmartHippo Answers… If you have a question about the refi process (or anything about mortgages in general) check out http://www.smarthippo.com/answers to ask. Like Yahoo! Answers anyone can ask/answer but we also have some experts on hand to jump in when needed.

]]> By: Jessica W http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/2009/05/to-refinance-or-not-to-refinance.html/comment-page-1#comment-6040 Jessica W Tue, 05 May 2009 16:37:54 +0000 http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/?p=3209#comment-6040 Lev, you are right, they aren't FICO scores. They are the TransUnion score, which is usually very similar to the FICO score. Thanks for pointing this out. It was my error. <abbr><em>Jessica Ws last blog post..<a href="http://pennywisefamily.blogspot.com/2009/04/you-know-youre-personal-finance-blogger.html" rel="nofollow">You know you're a personal finance blogger when....</a></abbr></em> Lev, you are right, they aren’t FICO scores. They are the TransUnion score, which is usually very similar to the FICO score. Thanks for pointing this out. It was my error.

Jessica Ws last blog post..You know you’re a personal finance blogger when….

]]> By: JoeTaxpayer http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/2009/05/to-refinance-or-not-to-refinance.html/comment-page-1#comment-6039 JoeTaxpayer Tue, 05 May 2009 16:20:41 +0000 http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/?p=3209#comment-6039 Nice article. I'd add a couple thoughts. There are still no point/no closing deals out there. Even to save 1/4%, it may be worth the effort to refinance. A 15 year mortgage is a great equity builder, no doubt, but only if the rest of your finances are in order. Maxing out the 401(k) matched deposits, having an emergency fund in place, etc. Going with a 15 can be risky if your budget doesn't have the room for the difference in payments. You can always get the 30 year mortgage but make extra payments to aim for a 15 year payoff. Joe Nice article.
I’d add a couple thoughts. There are still no point/no closing deals out there. Even to save 1/4%, it may be worth the effort to refinance.
A 15 year mortgage is a great equity builder, no doubt, but only if the rest of your finances are in order. Maxing out the 401(k) matched deposits, having an emergency fund in place, etc. Going with a 15 can be risky if your budget doesn’t have the room for the difference in payments. You can always get the 30 year mortgage but make extra payments to aim for a 15 year payoff.
Joe

]]> By: Money Beagle http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/2009/05/to-refinance-or-not-to-refinance.html/comment-page-1#comment-6038 Money Beagle Tue, 05 May 2009 15:54:38 +0000 http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/?p=3209#comment-6038 I'd love to be able to re-finance but unfortunately the 20% we put down is no longer enough equity to say we have 20% in the house since the values have fallen. I agree on the point of re-financing to a shorter term. In my previous mortgage, I re-financed from a 30 year loan to a 15 year loan, and that helped a lot in terms of how much equity I was able to build up over the subsequent few years. I’d love to be able to re-finance but unfortunately the 20% we put down is no longer enough equity to say we have 20% in the house since the values have fallen.

I agree on the point of re-financing to a shorter term. In my previous mortgage, I re-financed from a 30 year loan to a 15 year loan, and that helped a lot in terms of how much equity I was able to build up over the subsequent few years.

]]> By: Mat http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/2009/05/to-refinance-or-not-to-refinance.html/comment-page-1#comment-6037 Mat Tue, 05 May 2009 15:15:35 +0000 http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/?p=3209#comment-6037 We had a 30 yr fixed and actually was looking to change to a 15 yr. But then we figured out that we can pay a 30 yr like a 15 yr by paying extra each month. Granted that this would mean the interest rate would be slightly higher, but you can have the freedom of adjusting your mortgage payments if cash is tight. We had a 30 yr fixed and actually was looking to change to a 15 yr. But then we figured out that we can pay a 30 yr like a 15 yr by paying extra each month. Granted that this would mean the interest rate would be slightly higher, but you can have the freedom of adjusting your mortgage payments if cash is tight.

]]> By: Lev http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/2009/05/to-refinance-or-not-to-refinance.html/comment-page-1#comment-6034 Lev Tue, 05 May 2009 14:00:25 +0000 http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/?p=3209#comment-6034 I would double check this: "www.creditkarma.com has FICO scores for free". I don't think those scores are FICO scores. If you want FICO scores try myfico.com and they are not free except for free trials. What creditkarma provides is probably a proprietary score from one of the agencies. Regards, Lev I would double check this: “www.creditkarma.com has FICO scores for free”. I don’t think those scores are FICO scores. If you want FICO scores try myfico.com and they are not free except for free trials. What creditkarma provides is probably a proprietary score from one of the agencies.

Regards,
Lev

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