Refinance Mega Thread

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Goal33
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by Goal33 »

Rose wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 10:39 pm Is it worth it to re-fi? Here is the current mortgage information:

Balance: $49,000
Rate: 3.625%
Maturity date: 12/2025
House value: $300,000.

Please advise.
doubt it but let us know what you come back with.
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grogu
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by grogu »

KB8KB24 wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 3:51 pm Has anyone closed with Loan Cabin? If so, do they have an online system for paying the first month's mortgage or is it by snail mail.
I believe Loan Cabin sells all of their loans to a third-party servicer, so you will never actually make a first month payment directly to them. I just recently got my welcome packet from their servicer (Penny Mac). Received it well over a month after I closed, so even this aspect of Loan Cabin takes forever. (See my summary of my experience with Loan Cabin earlier in this thread if interested.) But to answer your question, yes, they do have a system whereby you can set up an account with their website and pay online.
eman31
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by eman31 »

3of10 wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 12:30 pm
jco wrote: Fri Mar 12, 2021 6:15 pm
eman31 wrote: Fri Mar 12, 2021 2:15 pm I'm working on a refi with better right now and things are going pretty smoothly but I keep getting updated loan estimates saying I changed something (I haven't) but the changes are minor if anything. The one I got today had the loan costs rolled into the loan twice and the points paid increased by a fraction (.265 to .27). Should I be going back and getting these changed now or not worry about it and just make sure the final documents are correct?

Things are moving pretty fast compared to my last refi. I started on 2/22 and it looks like it's getting close to wrapping up by next week.
If it's an obvious error, I'd ask them to fix it now. You may forget later.

On my final closing disclosure, I didn't notice that they had added insurance escrow back into the document. It wasn't a huge enough deal for me to care about in the end (they said I could resign) but it wasn't worth it to me.
+1. For those who haven't done this for their refi, it is important to do a PDF/print of the original locked LE in case there are unexpected changes later. With Better, changes to the LE can happen due to a mistake, or done as a result of what is updated in the tasks, different loan balance, changes to the pre-paid section,... The only way to know what has changed is to keep a copy of the original LE (which is replaced by the new LE).
Great advise to print out or at least download all of the loan estimates. I missed one on the beginning but have all the rest. Some of the changes are so subtle, it's the only way you can see the differences.
Bmonaye
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by Bmonaye »

3of10 wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 12:42 pm
Bmonaye wrote: Tue Mar 09, 2021 4:24 pm I called several customer service numbers and I finally got a hold of my loan agent's manager. My loan agent never reached out to him as he promised to do so, no surprise...
His manager told me that he never locked the rate after I asked him several times to do so. He also said that the file was inactive for thirty days after it came out of underwriting rendering it timed out. So essentially my refi just sat on my loan agents desk until it timed out. He told me that he's looking into the file and will get back to me in 24 hrs. I really don't think anything will come of it, but worth a try. I'm fumming mad right now!!!

My advice to you is try to get a hold of the manager if possible. There needs to be some accountability.
For me, I never start the refi process unless I have a written document (locked LE) on which to proceed. That is my only legal source if things go awry.
Lesson learned, definitely a hard pill to swallow. I'm now refinancing with Better at 3% for both my first and second mortgages($839K, jumbo refi). I made sure I locked in the rate this time. My experience with better mortgage has been way better than Mutual of Omaha. Way more responsive and their document portal is superb!

Loan Details:

Old loan
1st mortgage is $790K @ 3.625%
2nd mortgage (heloc) $49K @ 6%
making my blended rate 3.764%

New Loan
$839K @ 3%
A+B+C= $2,225

They may waive the appraisal since I got an appraisal done in January, which will save me $550. I made Mutual of Omaha refund me the appraisal fee since they dropped the ball.

I've reached out to Radian for a price quote for title services, but no one has responded. Anyone have tips on getting a quote from them?
Doc7
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by Doc7 »

Can someone help me, I either can't use refi calculators or don't understand what they are telling me.


I am currently still paying $81.67/mo PMI on a 30 year mortgage, established in June 2016, with $215K Remaining, $240K initial loan, value at the time was $260K. 3.25% with monthly payment of $1039 P&I.

I did Lending Tree and Quicken Loans called me to offer 20 Year Fixed $215K @ 2.875% but I would pay $4100 (with crying baby on lap i could not figure out if this included points or not, but he talked about a $500 "good faith" that rolls into the cost along with $3600, which is how i get to $4100). He also stated my Zillow estimate is showing my house as value of $306K meaning I would no longer have PMI.

So first of all - I should probably contact my current lender to see about appraisal / losing the PMI, correct?

Is it true that the breakeven on this is 61 months? That is what calculators I have found are showing me, but even if you just get rid of the PMI it is 51 months so I do not understand this.

Summary: Currently loan has 25 years remaining, $215K, 3.25%, $81.67 PMI, $1039/mo P&I before taxes and escrow. Offer on table is $215k + $4100 fees, 2.875% 20 year fixed, along with no more PMI.

I do not want to do anything with a breakeven period > 36 months.

Thank you!!!!
3of10
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by 3of10 »

Bmonaye wrote: Mon Mar 15, 2021 5:08 pm I've reached out to Radian for a price quote for title services, but no one has responded. Anyone have tips on getting a quote from them?
You've already made contact with them. The only thing I can add (if you haven't already done this) is to contact them with this email@ clientrelations@radian.com (general inquiries).
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3of10
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by 3of10 »

Doc7 wrote: Mon Mar 15, 2021 5:26 pm Can someone help me, I either can't use refi calculators or don't understand what they are telling me.


I am currently still paying $81.67/mo PMI on a 30 year mortgage, established in June 2016, with $215K Remaining, $240K initial loan, value at the time was $260K. 3.25% with monthly payment of $1039 P&I.

I did Lending Tree and Quicken Loans called me to offer 20 Year Fixed $215K @ 2.875% but I would pay $4100 (with crying baby on lap i could not figure out if this included points or not, but he talked about a $500 "good faith" that rolls into the cost along with $3600, which is how i get to $4100). He also stated my Zillow estimate is showing my house as value of $306K meaning I would no longer have PMI.

So first of all - I should probably contact my current lender to see about appraisal / losing the PMI, correct?

Is it true that the breakeven on this is 61 months? That is what calculators I have found are showing me, but even if you just get rid of the PMI it is 51 months so I do not understand this.

Summary: Currently loan has 25 years remaining, $215K, 3.25%, $81.67 PMI, $1039/mo P&I before taxes and escrow. Offer on table is $215k + $4100 fees, 2.875% 20 year fixed, along with no more PMI.

I do not want to do anything with a breakeven period > 36 months.

Thank you!!!!
It's really hard to know what the $4100 is referring to until you get the written Loan Estimate (LE).
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longdrives
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by longdrives »

Thank you to this forum for all the tips on refinance. I have never taken a loan estimate that was great and had someone match or beat it to get even better deal.

I am about to close with Ally on a 30 year jumbo @ 857,000 with 76,000 cash out @ 2.375 with .7 points. They matched Figure.com rate that I had initially received@2.625 0 points, I love Ally. I bought it down with 7k (.7 points) The figure.com rate was only locked for 30 days and I was a little skeptical about them as they seem to be very new. Ally's lock was for 75 days. It's been 30 days today from start and I am scheduled to sign on Friday. They gave me about 16k in credits on the match from where they started. Pretty sure it will be hard pressed to beat this one in the future.
BackToSchoolDad
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by BackToSchoolDad »

Got the committee approval for our refi with the local credit union today. 30y at 2.875 from a 4.25, $88,000 loan, house appraised for 115,000. Will be able to drop the escrow account and PMI, lowering the monthly P&I payment from 477 to 370. Closing costs are only $1,500.

They said we should be able to close by the end of the month. Pretty excited to get it locked in; feels like it's setting up my family for long term financial success. I doubt we'll ever be able to refinance with such favorable terms again, and the P&I payment is less than our monthly grocery bill.

Now to beef up the savings account/IRAs and resist the urge to make extra principal payments.
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BrandonBogle
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by BrandonBogle »

BackToSchoolDad wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 7:07 pm Got the committee approval for our refi with the local credit union today. 30y at 2.875 from a 4.25, $88,000 loan, house appraised for 115,000. Will be able to drop the escrow account and PMI, lowering the monthly P&I payment from 477 to 370. Closing costs are only $1,500.

They said we should be able to close by the end of the month. Pretty excited to get it locked in; feels like it's setting up my family for long term financial success. I doubt we'll ever be able to refinance with such favorable terms again, and the P&I payment is less than our monthly grocery bill.

Now to beef up the savings account/IRAs and resist the urge to make extra principal payments.
You did very well here. $1,500 isn’t that great of a cost, but it isn’t essentially $0. Considering you were paying PMI though, you will recoup the $1,500 pretty quickly with a 1.375% rate drop on top of getting rid of PMI. Good job!

Folks, this is why you need to look at the big picture even with a small mortgage. Sometimes paying some closing costs is still worth it.
lamdan
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by lamdan »

Having a hard time with my refinance with Better.com, they had a glitch which somehow had my home address somewhere in california even though i live in NJ, which took them a week to straighten out. my rate lock expires on the 22nd and loan is still in underwriting, so i'm nervous lock will expire and rates have jumped significantly in the last month.
They only give a 30 day lock which they assured me was enough when i asked originaly, but it seems not to be the case.
Frustrated
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BrandonBogle
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by BrandonBogle »

lamdan wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 11:17 pm Having a hard time with my refinance with Better.com, they had a glitch which somehow had my home address somewhere in california even though i live in NJ, which took them a week to straighten out. my rate lock expires on the 22nd and loan is still in underwriting, so i'm nervous lock will expire and rates have jumped significantly in the last month.
They only give a 30 day lock which they assured me was enough when i asked originaly, but it seems not to be the case.
Frustrated
Better is very good about extending the lock without penalty when hiccups like these happen, as long as they aren't a result of you dragging your feet. I would not be concerned about the existing lock expiration at all. The day before or the day of expiration, you will see a new LE gets generated on your portal and you will see the new LE has rate lock expiration date.
Bmonaye
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by Bmonaye »

lamdan wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 11:17 pm Having a hard time with my refinance with Better.com, they had a glitch which somehow had my home address somewhere in california even though i live in NJ, which took them a week to straighten out. my rate lock expires on the 22nd and loan is still in underwriting, so i'm nervous lock will expire and rates have jumped significantly in the last month.
They only give a 30 day lock which they assured me was enough when i asked originaly, but it seems not to be the case.
Frustrated
Have you communicated your concern about the rate expiring? Write them an email and call them. Make sure you get the issue documented for proof, ie email or something written.
babystep
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by babystep »

I have been following this thread for some time and found it be very informative.

I will be shopping for a jumbo mortgage for primary home in California. Can someone please help which lenders should I contact? I could transfer some assets to reduce the interest rate.

I am thinking below are the options:
  • Citi,
  • Wells Fargo
  • Chase
  • Bank of America
Any other options for jumbo mortgage? Any tips will be helpful.

Thanks.
River in Sight
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by River in Sight »

I completed a re-finance on my secondary residence with Sebonic around 2 weeks ago, and on Monday close with Navy FCU on my primary home refinance.

Current Loan: Navy FCU 5/5 ARM @2.625%
Current Balance: $490,000
Home Value: $800,000

New Loan: Navy 15 Year Fixed @2%
A+B+C+E Closing Costs: ~$3,000

New

For my other re-fi, I went for a no closing cost loan with Sebonic at 2 3/8th. I chose to incur some closing costs with NFCU for this loan because their rate was 3/8ths better than I could do anywhere else, and I intend to hold this home for a long time, so hopefully it will pay off after a year or two.

I started the application process in November and just now getting around to closing. In general I found NFCU much easier to work with than Sebonic, maybe because they hold the existing loan. Sebonic asked for tons of documentation, much of it repeatedly, NFCU was much more streamlined.
drk
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by drk »

babystep wrote: Wed Mar 17, 2021 3:18 pm Any other options for jumbo mortgage? Any tips will be helpful.
Did you see the thread on relationship discounts for Jumbos? If not, check it out because California is well-covered. viewtopic.php?t=280692&view=unread#unread

For your initial list, I would add Schwab, PNC, and First Republic.
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babystep
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by babystep »

drk wrote: Wed Mar 17, 2021 6:42 pm
babystep wrote: Wed Mar 17, 2021 3:18 pm Any other options for jumbo mortgage? Any tips will be helpful.
Did you see the thread on relationship discounts for Jumbos? If not, check it out because California is well-covered. viewtopic.php?t=280692&view=unread#unread

For your initial list, I would add Schwab, PNC, and First Republic.
Thank you!!
dangrad
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1.875% refi....has anyone seen a rate this low??!!

Post by dangrad »

[Thread merged into here --admin LadyGeek]

Hello all,

We just completed a refi on our house in a HCOL area. The closing is next week.

Rate is 1.875% on a 10/6 Conforming ARM (fixed @ 1.875% for 10 years then readjustment of the rate every six months). We plan to pay it off well before the 10-year point.

Have any other Bogleheads been able to get a refi rate that low?



(edited to add the following)

Closing costs were $1,514. I tried to get ride of the BS Origination Fee ($600), but no budging. The closing costs were rolled into the loan amount.

No appraisal needed

Payment going down $852/month.....sure, it pushes out the maturity another 30 years but we have no plans to see the mortgage to the end!
Last edited by dangrad on Wed Mar 17, 2021 10:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Hyperchicken
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Re: 1.875% refi....has anyone seen a rate this low??!!

Post by Hyperchicken »

What were the closing costs?
WildcatTofu
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Re: 1.875% refi....has anyone seen a rate this low??!!

Post by WildcatTofu »

Schwab is offering 1.875% 7/1 ARM if you have more than 5M assets with them.

https://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/ba ... calculator
pants_on_fire
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Re: 1.875% refi....has anyone seen a rate this low??!!

Post by pants_on_fire »

Just signed docs for a 1.875 15yr loan. Closing costs were covered by the lender via a 2800 credit (not rolled into the loan) and I’m receiving about a $450 credit back. Bay Area/hcol, but only ~480k refi on a 1.8m appraised value.
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LadyGeek
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by LadyGeek »

I merged dangrad's thread into the ongoing discussion.

pants_on_fire , Welcome!
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Doc7
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by Doc7 »

OK, I got numbers from another lender. I am having a really hard time finding a calculator that both accounts for shorter term AND rolling any costs into the mortgage with regards to the break-even point.

My current loan, 25 years remaining on 30 year, $215,644 remaining @ 3.25%.

A new lender has offered me a refi to 19 years, $225.5K @ 2.625%.
Per the work sheet they sent me the added ~10K is approx $838 Prepaids/Reserves, $3639 closing costs, $5127 in Discounts/Lender Credits (points).


If I get a promotion and am 'forced' to relocate in the next 3-5 years, it seems to me that paying $8600 at this time to go from 3.25 to 2.625 is not going to be worth it. I would be better served by taking that $215/mo extra payment and put it into VTI for 25 years.

Any help?
dfeucht
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by dfeucht »

Doc7 wrote: Thu Mar 18, 2021 8:15 am OK, I got numbers from another lender. I am having a really hard time finding a calculator that both accounts for shorter term AND rolling any costs into the mortgage with regards to the break-even point.

My current loan, 25 years remaining on 30 year, $215,644 remaining @ 3.25%.

A new lender has offered me a refi to 19 years, $225.5K @ 2.625%.
Per the work sheet they sent me the added ~10K is approx $838 Prepaids/Reserves, $3639 closing costs, $5127 in Discounts/Lender Credits (points).


If I get a promotion and am 'forced' to relocate in the next 3-5 years, it seems to me that paying $8600 at this time to go from 3.25 to 2.625 is not going to be worth it. I would be better served by taking that $215/mo extra payment and put it into VTI for 25 years.

Any help?
For a high level look I would take the interest rate savings and multiply it by the current balance to get an "annual" savings amount. Because the balance decreases through time, that savings is the max annual savings, but good for approximation. In this case, the interest rate drops 0.625% which against your current balance of $215,644 is about $1,350 in interest savings in year 1. You are paying $8,766 to get that savings. So the break even is about 6.5 - 7 years.

There is no way I would do this, even if I thought for certain I would never refinance or leave the house in 7 years - because things always change.

That's my two cents.
t_howe
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by t_howe »

Closed on our Refi last night.

30 year fixed, 2.625%, $293K no cost loan.

Second in a year with Better.com (previous was 3.25% from last year - we thought we were about as low as we could go)

Applied with Better and Loan Depot on 2/6.

We did a bit of back and forth and to my surprise better beat LD's price.

Locked on 2/9 and closed on 3/17 (36 days). It would have been just 30 days, but the loan was actually sold between the application and the closing and even though I provided the new lender/loan info and an updated payoff letter, the first attempt to close had the wrong lender in line for the payoff. I'm all for cleaning up clerical errors after the signing of the loan documents, but I'm not going with papers that have the completely wrong lender.

At the reschedule time, we had no issues. Quick and easy.

I definitely recommend better. Other than this one hiccup, we've had smooth and easy refinance process both times.
harikaried
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Re: 1.875% refi....has anyone seen a rate this low??!!

Post by harikaried »

dangrad wrote: Wed Mar 17, 2021 10:12 pmRate is 1.875% on a 10/6 Conforming ARM. Closing costs were $1,514.
pants_on_fire wrote: Thu Mar 18, 2021 12:08 amJust signed docs for a 1.875 15yr loan. Closing costs were covered by the lender via a 2800 credit, and I’m receiving about a $450 credit back.
I checked Bankrate's refinance search last night, and the only 1.875% rate was from Sebonic on a 10-year fixed. Their costs seemed to be a fixed $1,490 as origination fee with a lender credit of up to 0.2%, so a loan amount just under jumbo would have about $1.1k lender credit for a net $400 closing cost. Not sure why, but seeing both rate and APR under 2% seems pretty nice although the 10-year fixed case has much higher monthly payments compared to the 10/6 ARM or 15-year that others have gotten.
Doc7
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by Doc7 »

dfeucht wrote: Thu Mar 18, 2021 11:32 am
Doc7 wrote: Thu Mar 18, 2021 8:15 am OK, I got numbers from another lender. I am having a really hard time finding a calculator that both accounts for shorter term AND rolling any costs into the mortgage with regards to the break-even point.

My current loan, 25 years remaining on 30 year, $215,644 remaining @ 3.25%.

A new lender has offered me a refi to 19 years, $225.5K @ 2.625%.
Per the work sheet they sent me the added ~10K is approx $838 Prepaids/Reserves, $3639 closing costs, $5127 in Discounts/Lender Credits (points).


If I get a promotion and am 'forced' to relocate in the next 3-5 years, it seems to me that paying $8600 at this time to go from 3.25 to 2.625 is not going to be worth it. I would be better served by taking that $215/mo extra payment and put it into VTI for 25 years.

Any help?
For a high level look I would take the interest rate savings and multiply it by the current balance to get an "annual" savings amount. Because the balance decreases through time, that savings is the max annual savings, but good for approximation. In this case, the interest rate drops 0.625% which against your current balance of $215,644 is about $1,350 in interest savings in year 1. You are paying $8,766 to get that savings. So the break even is about 6.5 - 7 years.

There is no way I would do this, even if I thought for certain I would never refinance or leave the house in 7 years - because things always change.

That's my two cents.


Thanks , that’s what I am thinking also. Right now I’m planning on following one of two paths:

A) my current lender agrees to take PMI off loan because of home value appreciation putting me above 20% equity even though I am still not at 20% of loan. If they do this, I’ll invest that $82/mo along with another $85/mo (see below) in US TSM brokerage account. If at some point, likely around year 20, my brokerage account minus capital gains taxes is showing >3.25% annual return I will cash out and pay off the mortgage. Otherwise I continue to hold these funds while paying down the last few years on the loan.

B) if current lender will not eliminate PMI, I will refinance with Capcenter at 0 cost to a 20 year fixed at my rate or lower if still available (currently 3.125%). Now PMI is gone, so the $165/mo increased payment is actually only an $85 change to our budget.

Either option results in my same monthly outlay of approx $85 more per month than I am currently paying and gets rid of the ugly useless PMI expenditure, and both eliminate mortgage in approx 20 years from now (year 25 of current mortgage). It is conceivable though not a guarantee that returns either make this happen even earlier than planned or conversely result in me just holding the mortgage until the original end date (this is if I ended up never moving).

It’s hard to think about the future too much but to have 3 kids out of college and no mortgage payment in 20 years sounds like it will be a pretty exciting time for our finances.
rgs92
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by rgs92 »

Would a 3% $548,000 fixed 30-year mortgage be worth refi'ing if I was planning on keeping it a long time? Any suggestiosn are welcome.
blissjunkie
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by blissjunkie »

This forum has been incredibly useful so far, so hoping to get a bit of advice to chose the best option between these two.


Lenderfi
3.125%
A 0
B 153
C 1048
D 1201
E 183
F 545
G 4745
H
I 5473
Total closing (D+I) = 6674
Lender Credit 1384
Cash to close (D+I) - 1384 = 5290

Better
3.125%
A 0
B 64
C 1500
D 1564
E 141
F 2129
G 881
H
I 3151
Total closing (D+I) = 4715
Lender Credit 3252
Cash to close (D+I)-3252 = 1463

Both are same rate with no appraisal required, so at this point, it seems clear that I should go with Better due to the larger lender credit, but the LO at LenderFi told me that the extra lender credit could not be applied to F or G and that basically the extra amount would just go to waste. That doesn't seem to match what the LE states (D+I) - Lender Credit, however, so any advice there would be great as well.
Last edited by blissjunkie on Thu Mar 18, 2021 3:50 pm, edited 2 times in total.
apres_all_day
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by apres_all_day »

rgs92 wrote: Thu Mar 18, 2021 1:10 pm Would a 3% $548,000 fixed 30-year mortgage be worth refi'ing if I was planning on keeping it a long time? Any suggestiosn are welcome.
If it's no or minimal fees? Yes. Hard to beat that right now without a relationship discount.
knicknut
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by knicknut »

I've seen a few folks reference rate-locking multiple lenders to let the process play out a bit. (See who can close faster, insurance in case one increases fees or messes things up or lets rate-lock expire, etc.)

Are those who do consciously spending $500+ for this "insurance," with the understanding that you will lose the fee with the lender you don't complete the process with? Most of the lenders I've gotten that far down the process with wanted an appraisal or more prepaid paid to rate-lock. Wanted to make sure I'm not missing something. Thanks!
drk
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by drk »

blissjunkie wrote: Thu Mar 18, 2021 1:57 pm Both are same rate with no appraisal required, so at this point, it seems clear that I should go with Better due to the larger lender credit, but the LO at LenderFi told me that the extra lender credit could not be applied to F or G and that basically the extra amount would just go to waste. That doesn't seem to match what the LE states (D+I) - Lender Credit, however, so any advice there would be great as well.
The LenderFi LO is either confused or lying. My lender credit from Better and LoanDepot exceeded my closing costs, and it paid down my F and G costs.
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blissjunkie
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by blissjunkie »

drk wrote: Thu Mar 18, 2021 4:23 pm
blissjunkie wrote: Thu Mar 18, 2021 1:57 pm Both are same rate with no appraisal required, so at this point, it seems clear that I should go with Better due to the larger lender credit, but the LO at LenderFi told me that the extra lender credit could not be applied to F or G and that basically the extra amount would just go to waste. That doesn't seem to match what the LE states (D+I) - Lender Credit, however, so any advice there would be great as well.
The LenderFi LO is either confused or lying. My lender credit from Better and LoanDepot exceeded my closing costs, and it paid down my F and G costs.
Great thanks! After chatting with Better and confirming a few things, I just locked in with them.
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Cobra Commander
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by Cobra Commander »

drk wrote: Thu Mar 18, 2021 4:23 pm
blissjunkie wrote: Thu Mar 18, 2021 1:57 pm Both are same rate with no appraisal required, so at this point, it seems clear that I should go with Better due to the larger lender credit, but the LO at LenderFi told me that the extra lender credit could not be applied to F or G and that basically the extra amount would just go to waste. That doesn't seem to match what the LE states (D+I) - Lender Credit, however, so any advice there would be great as well.
The LenderFi LO is either confused or lying. My lender credit from Better and LoanDepot exceeded my closing costs, and it paid down my F and G costs.
I think that is the LF policy that credits can't exceed closing costs so maybe the LO at LF assumed other lenders have the same policy.
ImSoGreen
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by ImSoGreen »

This thread has been incredibly useful and I would like to thank everyone for sharing their experiences. We just closed last night for our NYC coop apt. It was a little tricky since many of the lenders mentioned in this thread either did not lend in NY or did not do coops.

750K loan
68% LTV
~1K closing costs
NYC coop apt
Applied 1/19, closed 3/18
In person appraisal required
30 yr fixed @ 2.5%
First Republic (highly recc - straight forward, no bs, very responsive)

Prior loan was a 30yr fixed jumbo @ 3.375%. FR would only offer this rate if we paid down (60K) to 750K. I thought it was worth it.
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BrandonBogle
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Post by BrandonBogle »

ImSoGreen wrote: Fri Mar 19, 2021 4:24 pm This thread has been incredibly useful and I would like to thank everyone for sharing their experiences. We just closed last night for our NYC coop apt. It was a little tricky since many of the lenders mentioned in this thread either did not lend in NY or did not do coops.

750K loan
68% LTV
~1K closing costs
NYC coop apt
Applied 1/19, closed 3/18
In person appraisal required
30 yr fixed @ 2.5%
First Republic (highly recc - straight forward, no bs, very responsive)

Prior loan was a 30yr fixed jumbo @ 3.375%. FR would only offer this rate if we paid down (60K) to 750K. I thought it was worth it.
Was First Republic your existing lender? If not, that is an incredible deal to only have $1k closing costs in NYC with the mortgage tax. Great job either way!
nakatomi
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by nakatomi »

I was pretty daunted by my first refi and this thread really helped demystify it for me. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences.

Just closed with Aimloan, 20 yr @ 2.25 with $2800 total costs (no points). Original loan was a 30 yr @ 3.75. Locked on 2/22 and closed in less than 30 days. They were great to work with and every step was smooth.

Here are some other thoughts I wanted to share/reiterate for other newbies:

Shop around
I got LEs from AIM, LenderFi, Better, Loan Depot, Sebonic and some of the bigger banks.
I was leaning towards LenderFi based on the advice in this thread, but rates ticked up abruptly and I couldn't get the rate I was initially quoted (in fact, the rate changed in the middle of the call I made to lock the rate. LenderFi loan officer asked me to hold on a sec and then said the rate was gone :oops: Said he would follow up but ended up ghosting me).
Luckily, AIM still honored their LE and allowed me to lock in the 2.25 rate.
So I'd like to second the advice to shop around as you never know.
I did email my locked rate Loan Estimate around to get better deals but no one matched it. Better.com had a $100 match-or-beat-it offer, but when I tried to redeem it, they started to add qualifications and conditions, and I didn't bother pursuing.

No cost is not always best
AIM does not offer no-cost loans so I was initially leaning away from them. However, once I took a closer look, I calculated that the refi cost would pay for itself in just a few months, and the 2.25% rate I was getting would keep my total monthly payment the same. Moreover, if you look at AIM's rate table and compare to other lenders like LenderFi, AIM was cheaper when I compared total costs for a given interest rate. This is for my situation, YMMV. Bottom line is that I think their pricing is very competitive.

Compare your Loan Estimates
As I went through the refi, AIM kept updating the LE. One prepaid that increased was the number of months of property taxes escrowed. It really helped to compare an updated LE to the previous one, line by line, so I could understand the changes. In the end, I thought that AIM was super transparent, and all their initially quoted fees ended up being lower. Sure, the prepaids were higher, but that's primarily because I have a property tax payment coming up and this amount will be offset by the refund from the original lender.
I was also concerned about the payoff amount as the payoff document was obtained in Feb and didn't reflect my March 1 payment. However, during closing, an AIM rep asked my if I had made my regular payment and adjusted the amounts. Since I didn't roll any costs into the loan, this reduced cash needed at closing which was great.

Lastly, I wanted to share an informative webpage I found on AIM's site where they go explain their interest rates and risk-based add ons. It's interesting as a primer even if other lenders have their own models: https://www.aimloan.com/programs/fixed-rate-mortgages
ImSoGreen
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by ImSoGreen »

BrandonBogle wrote: Fri Mar 19, 2021 9:22 pm
ImSoGreen wrote: Fri Mar 19, 2021 4:24 pm This thread has been incredibly useful and I would like to thank everyone for sharing their experiences. We just closed last night for our NYC coop apt. It was a little tricky since many of the lenders mentioned in this thread either did not lend in NY or did not do coops.

750K loan
68% LTV
~1K closing costs
NYC coop apt
Applied 1/19, closed 3/18
In person appraisal required
30 yr fixed @ 2.5%
First Republic (highly recc - straight forward, no bs, very responsive)

Prior loan was a 30yr fixed jumbo @ 3.375%. FR would only offer this rate if we paid down (60K) to 750K. I thought it was worth it.
Was First Republic your existing lender? If not, that is an incredible deal to only have $1k closing costs in NYC with the mortgage tax. Great job either way!
Thanks! My prior loan was with Wells Fargo. Coops can be annoying in many ways, but this is one advantage. Fortunately coop "mortgages" are not technically mortgages, so you don't have to pay the mortgage recording tax.
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BrandonBogle
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Post by BrandonBogle »

ImSoGreen wrote: Sun Mar 21, 2021 9:58 am
BrandonBogle wrote: Fri Mar 19, 2021 9:22 pm Was First Republic your existing lender? If not, that is an incredible deal to only have $1k closing costs in NYC with the mortgage tax. Great job either way!
Thanks! My prior loan was with Wells Fargo. Coops can be annoying in many ways, but this is one advantage. Fortunately coop "mortgages" are not technically mortgages, so you don't have to pay the mortgage recording tax.
Gotcha. That will indeed make thousands of dollars difference. NY is one of those areas where it makes sense often to pay points because the cost to refi is so high. I didn’t realize coops are subject to the mortgage tax. At least you get one perk for the difficulty you experience in obtaining coop financing.
sudohouse
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by sudohouse »

Refinance lender screwed up my application and says I’m now on the hook for extra 3k in closing costs.

Originally negotiated $0 Loan Costs after lender credits at 2.875% on a 614k loan with subordinated Heloc 97k.
The Closing Disclosure came back and now I'm getting charged 3k for the points and lender credits is only $245

After speaking with them the guy who did my application apparently he screwed up and marked my Heloc as paid off at closing despite the fact we subordinated it from the start. So now pricing has been adjusted and the costs of my points buy down was increased by that 3k.

I'm scheduled for closing on Friday in 3 days, is it legal for them to increase the costs of my loan like that at the last minute? Is there any recourse for me? I would walk away but after rates have shot up I don't have any chance to get 2.875 again.

Any advice is appreciated.
Link to LE and Changes https://imgur.com/a/tlByBom
soobaerodude
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by soobaerodude »

Our ordeal with Loan Depot finally ended.
12/18/2020 60-day lock
2/10/2020 30 day lock extension
3/10/2020 Another 30 day lock extension
3/17/2021 Signed closing documents
3/23/2021 Old loan paid-off

LO was ok to deal with. LP was unresponsive to email. Found out they were waiting around for the payoff amount from my previous lender, so I had to obtain it myself in order to get the ball rolling. If I had known about this, we could've probably closed much sooner. Had to call the LP almost daily for 1.5 weeks in order to move things along.

In retrospect, I should've taken the LE to Better and have them beat it. They were much more organized and close within 30 days.
HTFreak
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by HTFreak »

Hi all.

I am trying to reach every thread here.
My current mortgage with TIAA has 23 more years on it (ends in 2044 unless I pay it off early...)
I have had a lot of applications and received LOAN ESTIMATES so far in order TIAA, Rocket/Quicken, Loan Depot, Better, AIM, and LenderFi...

Our current interest rate is 4.25%
Our current mortgage is $2779 per month and that includes all taxes and home insurance...

I have done a few competitive Loan Estimate comparisons where I email the Loan Estimate from one to the other lender asking if they can
beat the other.......back and forth a few times between a few of them to let them battle it out in the "ring" so to speak.

Here is what they are offering: (all of these are on a 20 year mortgage)

TIAA:
Currently paying $2779
Waiting to hear back from them if they can match any competing loan estimates

Loan Depot:
2.75%
NO CLOSING COSTS (because of lending credits that they offer)
Monthly mortgage for them will be $2838
Loan Amount : $325k

AIM
2.65%
Closing cost of $3874
20 year mortgage
MORTGAGE AMOUNT: 319k
Note: They are not negotiable with this - they said they would not complete with any other loan estimates

LenderFi
$2715 per month mortgage payment
2.75
Closing costs: $0
MORTGAGE AMOUNT: 319k
APR: 2.552

Better.com
2.75% interest rate
Mortgage Payment per month: $2743.00
20 year mortgage
Closing Costs: $0
MORTGAGE AMOUNT: 319k
Closing costs: I will actually making $910 for closing with them (not only are there zero closing costs, but they will write a
check for $910 to me after the closing ------ I believe this is handed through the Escrow details


PS: for now I locked in the rate for Better.com and I will be talking to my wife tonight

Thoughts?
Last edited by HTFreak on Thu Mar 25, 2021 9:53 am, edited 5 times in total.
FS51
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by FS51 »

LenderFi
15 year 2.375
69% LTV
HCOL
No-cost. Last refi I did was about 7 months ago. Is this a good rate at this time. I loved the speed of LenderFi last time.
HTFreak
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by HTFreak »

Has anyone ever had any issues with the amount of time Better.com takes to complete the refinance process from start to finish
after you lock in the rate and complete all of their requirements?

Better.com is offering $910 cash check and zero closing costs

vs

LenderFi is offering a monthly mortgage of $28 per month less which totals $6700 after 20 years of the mortgage.
Familyman2012
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by Familyman2012 »

HTFreak wrote: Wed Mar 24, 2021 7:05 pm Has anyone ever had any issues with the amount of time Better.com takes to complete the refinance process from start to finish
after you lock in the rate and complete all of their requirements?

Better.com is offering $910 cash check and zero closing costs

vs

LenderFi is offering a monthly mortgage of $28 per month less which totals $6700 after 20 years of the mortgage.
I’ve done 2 refi with better. The whole process was super quick once you complete all required task. Notary came to my house and we signed all paperwork needed. Both refi closed in 3 weeks. No hiccups for me. Ymmv

Never did a refi with lenderfi but people on this board has said good things about them. Close super quick.

My 3rd refi was with owning.com out of California. They were even Easier than better.com by a mile and I thought better.com was as easy as they come.
kir_royale
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by kir_royale »

We closed with Interactive Mortgage in early March with a 2.875 30 year fixed and despite the fact that they dragged their feet to get our appraisal done that pushed us up during the rate jumps in Jan/Feb, we have the new mortgage company, CMG, reach out like 2 weeks later. Already created a new account and are making our normal payment for April.
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BrandonBogle
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by BrandonBogle »

HTFreak wrote: Wed Mar 24, 2021 7:05 pm Has anyone ever had any issues with the amount of time Better.com takes to complete the refinance process from start to finish
after you lock in the rate and complete all of their requirements?

Better.com is offering $910 cash check and zero closing costs

vs

LenderFi is offering a monthly mortgage of $28 per month less which totals $6700 after 20 years of the mortgage.
Are you looking at P&I only, or are you including escrow? In your earlier post, you have Better and LenderFi at the same rate and same loan amount. Assuming both are 20-year mortgages, there shouldn’t be a payment difference.
ScoobyDoo
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Location: Dallas

Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by ScoobyDoo »

knicknut wrote: Thu Mar 18, 2021 3:47 pm I've seen a few folks reference rate-locking multiple lenders to let the process play out a bit. (See who can close faster, insurance in case one increases fees or messes things up or lets rate-lock expire, etc.)

Are those who do consciously spending $500+ for this "insurance," with the understanding that you will lose the fee with the lender you don't complete the process with? Most of the lenders I've gotten that far down the process with wanted an appraisal or more prepaid paid to rate-lock. Wanted to make sure I'm not missing something. Thanks!
+1 Would love to hear thoughts on this from people as I have found myself stressed that I am doing something ethically dubious with this strategy.

i tell myself it’s my right and at the end of the day the actual costs/numbers are not known until weeks, sometimes months, after locked. But it does seem a bit wrong????? Just because I can do it, should I?
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MilleniumBuc
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by MilleniumBuc »

FS51 wrote: Wed Mar 24, 2021 5:02 pm LenderFi
15 year 2.375
69% LTV
HCOL
No-cost. Last refi I did was about 7 months ago. Is this a good rate at this time. I loved the speed of LenderFi last time.
I did a 15 year at 2.5 6-7 months ago on MCOL and about 65% LTV. I did not get a better rate probably because of the low 200s loan amount and no escrow. I actually checked yesterday and the low/no cost was 2.375.

Based on that I think it’s a good rate, but if that is the rate the show online, I would talk to them to see if you can get .125 or .25 discount from the online quote.
SpiritualAlp
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Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Post by SpiritualAlp »

Any GA residence , tried to refinance with Farmers Bank of Kansas city ?

The bank was recommended by a friend, who offered good rates. I contacted them in Dec but after going back and forth finally I was able to get a cash out refinance loan for 15 year 2.125 with reasonable fees.
So the process started in feb and my loan officer was excellent and everything moved smoothly and we were to close on 03/19/2021. All was ready by 03/16/2021. I was waiting for the closing with the confirmed appt but no one showed up and no call about that.
I reached out to the bank and they say ga needs attorney . So they said we will close it by 03/25/2021 still no word yet . Now I am losing my patience dealing with this for almost 4 months.
I am not sure how the bank didnt know the GA has this process and not prepared .
My existing bank offered the same rate with just 500 more on fees . I should have just gone with them .

I am really getting frustrated ..

Anyone had similar experience?

Thanks
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