Refnancing

You don't need a lawyer. You contact a mortgage company and work with them. Why is this making you nervous - it's pretty straightforward! I've refinanced a few times and it's taken anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. My mom just spent six months trying to refinance her house and finally gave up because the bank wouldn't agree to the terms they had originally offered. Also, when I have refinanced, we were able to roll the closing costs into the loan once, but not the other times.

J.:

Refinancing is done through a financial institution, not a lawyer.

The lawyer's office is used for closing - and the financial institution selects them or asks you if you have a preference of closing/title companies.

IF you are refinancing through a VA loan - the paperwork can be daunting. and take up to 45 days.

Most times, refinancing is done in 30 days..however, with the new laws in place - to prevent further foreclosures and to ensure you can actually afford the house - it can take longer.

Be prepared to answer any questions regarding inquiries to your credit in the last 3 months.

be prepared to have an appraisal done (up to $500 out of pocket).

Closing costs can be wrapped into the loan or you can pay points. All depends upon your finances, what you can afford, what you have in the bank and what you are doing.

You go through a mortgage company to refinance, not a lawyer.

We are in the midst of another refi because it just makes good sense.

We have never paid closing costs other than the $500 to lock in and maybe a nominal courier/legal fee or something like that... never reaching $1000. Make sure you have no hidden costs rolled into your mortgage either because you defeat the purpose of a refi if you make your mortgage bigger. When we refi, we also pay down the mortgage. What we are doing now as well as what we have done in the past is called a no-cost refi.

If possible, keep escrow out of the equation too. We've never had escrow because we are disciplined enough to know when the property taxes and home owners payments are due. We make the interest on those funds vs a company using our money.

If you are using a good mortgage company, they sould be able to answer all of your questions regarding the refi. Make sure you understand all the fine print as well.

Good luck.

No lawyer - call your current mortgage company. We did it with 0 out of pocket costs - we got a slightly higher rate but didn't have to pay anything (and nothing was rolled into our loan). That is what I wanted - no money to do it!! Took about 2 months from start to finish.

I just barely handed over all my paper to the person I've been working with on my refi. We will be paying less, have a lower interest rate and pay it off sooner. We will not be paying any closing costs. It was all wrapped up into the loan-an we will still have all the lovely benefits listed above. We've never done this before either. I asked the person helping us and he says it can take upto 60 days. We considered having our lawyer look over the paperwork but it was so straighforward and easy to understand, we didn't think it would be necessary after all. Don't worry. I was a nervous wreck for a while too it all worked out. Good luck.!

I did it through my mortgage company, although I think I may have received a better rate if I'd shopped other companies. Going through my own company and taking no equity out allowed a faster, less expensive refinance as less paperwork was required. I rolled all of the costs into the new loan so that I didn't have to pay anything at closing.

Start out by calling various mortgage lenders to ask about their process. Decide upon one that meets your needs. Ask them all of these questions.

I've refinanced several times. This last time, this year, I refinanced thru the mortgage company I was already with. The process took a couple of months. The closing costs as well as the appraisal were part of the loan. I paid nothing out of pocket for any of my refinances. A lawyer is not a part of the process. Refinancing is a business arrangement between you and a mortgage company.

A lot of it depends on the situation around the re-fi and why you are doing it. Are you up-side-down on your mortgage? Are you behind on payments? How is you credit score? I would talk to an independent financial adviser to help you look through the paperwork and explain the lingo to you as well as what you will be responsible for. The bank should do this, but like buying a used car - have someone else check it out for you.

We are in the middle of refi hell. One company dropped the ball after much back and forth since Feb and one doesn't want to fill out anything themselves and keeps taking so long that they want updated everything. We have gone back to company #1, though they ticked us off. It can be a lengthy and miserable process. We have always used the loan officer directly, never a lawyer. Sometimes there are costs and sometimes not. It depends on what you are doing (like buying down points). We have refinanced the house a few times over the years for better rates or to get rid of points.

I did a refinance through Quicken Loans. It took a long time and they made me want to hang myself! I also had to pay an upfront fee of $250 (which covered the appraisal when the time came) and out of pocket closing costs. When we got done, I told hubby that unless interest rates go to 0%, I am NEVER doing that again!