Refinancing your home has always been a popular decision for a number of reasons. However, it’s not a choice you should make rashly. So before you refinance your house, consider the following.
First, you always need to measure if it’s actually worth it over the long term. No matter what other factors are at play, refinancing almost always means paying less per month, but paying it for more months to come. To many people who plan on living in their home for decades, this is definitely a worthwhile trade. However, it’s never a bad idea to simply have less debt weighing you down either.
That being said, you may be refinancing as a method of debt consolidation. For example, if you have home equity loan on top of your mortgage, your goal may be a fixed-rate mortgage that provides you with a single, more manageable payment over the long term.
Another major benefit of refinancing is that it can take you out of a challenging interest rate and into one you’ll have an easier time handling. The problem is that this usually means an ARM (Adjustable Rate Mortgage) loan. While these can be very attractive at the moment, many people refinance specifically to get out of them. This is where you should really speak to an analyst who can help you consider future trends that will affect interest rates. As we mentioned before, a major consideration will be how long you plan on staying in the home.
That being said, most experts recommend staying with your current mortgage if you don’t plan on living in your current home for long. This is because refinancing always means paying more for the foreseeable future, which is all the longer you might be at your current address.
Refinancing should always be taken seriously and never made without a lot of thought. The above is a good place to start.
Source:
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/mortgages/when-to-refinance-your-mortgage-1.aspx
