With mortgage rates at or near all-time record lows, you’ve likely pondered a refinance if you’re an existing homeowner. But you probably have a lot of questions too, especially if it’s your first time refinancing a home loan. Let’s clear up some of the confusion by tackling some of the most common refinance questions out [&hellip

The post The Top 15 Refinance Questions Answered first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.

If and when you take out a mortgage, you’ll be faced with an important choice. To pay or not pay mortgage points. In short, those who pay points should hypothetically secure a lower interest rate than those who do not pay points, all else being equal. That’s because mortgage points, at least the ones that [&hellip

The post An Alternative to Paying Mortgage Points first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.

Mortgage Q&A: “Does a refinance require an appraisal?” A reader recently asked if they needed an appraisal to refinance their existing mortgage, knowing they can often add weeks to the loan process. As with anything in the mortgage realm, the answer is it depends. Mainly, it depends on the type of loan you plan to [&hellip

The post Does a Refinance Require an Appraisal? first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.

Need to tap your home equity? Here’s what you need to know about your options: cash-out refinance, home equity loan, and home equity line of credit.

The post Need Cash? 3 Ways To Tap Your Home Equity—and Which One’s Right for You appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

With mortgage rates at or near record lows, a lot of existing homeowners are probably asking themselves, “Is refinancing worth it?” The problem is there’s no absolute right or wrong answer to this question, though with interest rates a lot lower than they were a year or two ago, the answer to this question will [&hellip

The post Is Refinancing Worth It? first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.

Queue the panic. Mortgage rates have officially spiked and the media is all over it. Yep, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage increased from 2.65% to 2.79% this week, per Freddie Mac’s weekly survey. Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater noted in the weekly news release that mortgage rates have been under pressure [&hellip

The post Don’t Freak Out About the Recent Mortgage Rate ‘Spike’ first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.

What I’ve seen and heard through the years is certain lenders not being so forthcoming with existing customers wanting to refinance their mortgage. For example, when a homeowner goes to inquire about the “awesome low rates,” their first instinct may be to pick up the phone and call the lender who gave them their current [&hellip

The post Don’t Let Your Current Lender Talk You Out of a Mortgage Refinance first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.

Mortgage rates keep on marching lower and lower, with new records broken seemingly every week. But with all the fervor surrounding mortgage rates, some lenders are playing the “how low can we appear to go” game. For example, mortgage lenders may be talking about their lowest rates (with multiple points required), as opposed to offering [&hellip

The post Watch Out for Low Mortgage Rates You Have to Pay For first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.