* I want to increase my mortgage but I don’t want to pay PMI

Currently I have a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage of $148,000 at 6.75%. My monthly payment inclusive of property tax and home insurance premium is $1,276. I’m also paying $122 each month for . My home’s appraised value is $183,600. When my loan is no longer subjected to , I want to refinance my mortgage to take out $10,000 to $15,000. What will my monthly payment be like?



To get your answer, you need to first get some realistic data such as interest rates, points and closing costs. The following link gives you an excellent source of free quotes from established lenders, and you are not obligated to take out any loans from them:



Get Free Quotes for your analysis



(1) Your existing monthly loan payment
————————————————————

Although you are paying 1,276 a month, your monthly loan payment is actually 960. The balance of 316 (= 1,276 less 960) comprises your property tax and home insurance premium.


(2) Your loan-to-value ratio
——————————————-

Right now your loan-to-value is 80.6% (= 148,000 / 183,600 x 100%).


In 12 months’ time, your loan will be reduced by 11,519, ie 960 x 12, to 136,480 (= 148,000 less 11,519). Your then loan-to-value will be about 74% (= 136,480 / 183,600 x 100%), assuming your home’s appraised value will remain unchanged.


(3) How much cash will you be able to take out
————————————————————————-

If you don’t want to pay , your refinanced mortgage cannot exceed 80% of your appraised value, ie 80% x 183,600 = 146,880.


Let’s assume that you’ll refinance your mortgage one year later when your loan is reduced to 136,480, as shown in paragraph (2) above. The maximum amount of cash you can take out will be your refinanced mortgage (ie 146,880) less your loan balance in 12 months’ time (ie 136,480):


146,880 - 136,480 = 10,400.


(4) What will your new monthly payment be
——————————————————————–

Set out below are some of free quotes I receive from a lender:

Rate Payment Lender fees
& points
Other
closing
costs
Govt
taxes & fees
Total
costs
5.500% $834 5.895% $6,203 $1,260 $597 $8,060
5.625% $846 5.966% $5,335 $1,260 $597 $7,192
5.750% $857 6.043% $4,573 $1,260 $597 $6,430
6.250% $904 6.367% $1,789 $1,260 $597 $3,646
6.500% $928 6.539% $594 $1,260 $597 $2,451
6.750% $953 6.750% $-415 $1,260 $597 $1,442


Note:

(i) Other closing costs include fees of closing attorney/agent, appraiser, title insurance, and credit reporting.


(ii) Total costs = Lender fees & points + Other closing costs + Govt taxes & fees


(iii) Homeowner’s insurance and property taxes are omitted


Assumption

The above free quotes are given based on the following assumptions:

(a) Loan amount = $146,880

(b) Property value =$183,600

(c) Propery type = single

(d) Product = 30 year fixed

(e) Property state = Georgia

(f) Loan purpose = Refinance with cashout

(g) You have no second mortgage/home equity lines

(h) Your current credit rating = excellent



Any of the 6 options in the table above will give you a monthly payment less than your current monthly payment of 960 (see paragraph 1 above).


The 5.500% option gives you the largest cash savings because the monthly payment is the lowest, ie 834. But this option requires the largest cash outlay — the total costs is 8,060. This will reduce your intended cash takeout of 10,400 (see paragraph 3 above) to only 2,340 (= 10,400 less 8,060). This option will thus defeat your purpose.


If you want to maximize your cash takeout, the 6.750% is your option. Your monthly payment savings will be minimal because your new monthly payment (953) is almost equal to your current monthly payment (960) , but your cash takeout will be maximized at 8,543 (= 10,400 - 1,260 - 597). Will this be acceptable to you, since your objective is to take between 10,000 and 15,000 cash out?



Summary

There is no general answer as to what your revised monthly payment will be after you refinance your mortgage. Your lender’s offers will determine your monthly payment, and also whether or not you’ll be able to meet your objective of taking out 10,000 - 15,000 cash.


You must never make your decision based on only qualitative considerations. You must always work out the numbers and analyze them. To get reliable results, you should use realistic data. You should get free quotes from lenders. There are many lenders who are keen to provide you with the relevant information. Try this good resource:


Get Free Low quotes for your analysis


Be sure that these lenders tell you their fees, points, other third parties’ fees, and all other attendant costs. Ask them for their (annual percentage rate) because this is the real cost of your loan. Look at the APRs in the table above. Each is higher than the corresponding interest rate because APRs take into account your interest costs, the lender’s fees and points. Thus APRs are more accurate measures of your overall loan cost.


Using the data in the table above, it’s clear that you can:

(a) take cash out from refinancing your mortgage, and


(b) keep the monthly payment the same as, or less than, your current monthly payment, and


(c) avoid paying .


The only question remaining is: are you satisfied with less than 10,000 cash takeout?


Tags: , , , ,

* Should I refinance my home equity loan to consolidate my credit card debt?

My first mortgage balance is $190k at 4%pa. I have a home equity line of $170k that I have fully utilized. I am also a $30k credit card debt.

Should I refinance my home equity loan to consolidate my credit card debt?

Obviously it is advantageous for you to consolidate your credit card debt because:
.

(a) you will save interest because you will be using the cheaper home equity loan to replace your more expensive credit card loan, and
.

(b) having your credit card debt paid off will result in a lower credit card utilization rate which in turn will improve your credit score.

.

Financing option
————————-
How are you going to raise the $30k to clear your credit card debt?
.

(1) One option is to increase your home equity line by $30k, assuming that you still have available home equity to do so. This will bring your total home equity debt up to $200k.
.

(2) The other option is to ask your first mortgage lender to lend you another $200k that you will then use to pay off both your home equity loan and credit card debt. This is advantageous because first mortgage is usually cheaper than second home loan such as your home equity loan.

.

Points to note
———————
(A) Your current situation has a tax disadvantage here. While you can deduct your home equity loan interest for tax purposes, your eligible home equity loan is limited to a maximum of $100k only. The interest you pay on the remaining $70k of your home equity loan is not eligible for tax deduction. Financing option (1) stated above will not increase your tax deduction for the loan interest.
.

If you choose financing option (2) to borrow the $200k (ie $170k + $30k) from your first mortgage lender, you will increase your interest savings as mortgage interest rates are lower than home equity loan rates. Of this $200k new first mortgage, interest on $100k is still eligible for tax deduction.
.

It does not matter what the loan is called, either first mortgage or home equity loan. For the purposes of tax deduction for mortgage interest, as long as the loan secured on your home is not used for buying or improving your home, the loan amount — whose interest is eligible for tax deduction — is limited to a maximum of $100k only.

.

(B) You should ascertain the appraised value of your home. If your total borrowings exceed 80% of your home’s appraised value, you will have to buy private mortgage insurance () to protect your lender against your default. will increase your loan costs. Your total borrowings will be $390k (ie $190k + $170k + $30k new loan), and so your home’s appraised value has to be at least $488k to avoid having to pay ($390k � $488k x 100% = 80%).

.

The bottom line is that you must work out the numbers (eg the interest charges, closing costs, monthly repayment amount, total loan interest over the loan period, , etc) under each possible option to determine the best choice before you make your decision.
.
.

Tags: , , ,