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Refinance Your Home

Home refinancing refers to the replacement of an existing debt obligation with a new debt obligation bearing different terms. The most common consumer refinancing is for a home mortgage.

Refinance may be undertaken to reduce interest costs (by refinancing a home at a lower rate), to extend the repayment time, to pay off other debts, to reduce one's periodic payment obligations (sometimes by taking a longer-term loan), to reduce or deter risk (such as by refinance loans from a variable-rate to a fixed-rate loan), and/or to raise cash for investment, consumption, or the payment of a dividend.

In essence, refinance adjustable rate mortgage can alter the monthly payments owed on the home loan either by changing the loan's interest rate, or by altering the term to maturity of the loan. More favorable lending conditions may reduce overall borrowing costs. Refinance loans are used in most cases to improve overall cash flow.

Another use of refinance bad credit is to reduce the risk associated with an existing mortgage loan. Interest rates on adjustable-rate loans and mortgages shift up and down based on the movements of the various indices used to calculate them. By refinancing an adjustable-rate mortgage into a fixed-rate mortgage, the risk of interest rates increasing dramatically is removed, thus ensuring a steady interest rate over time. This flexibility comes at a price as lenders typically charge a premium for fixed rate home loans.

In the context of personal (as opposed to corporate) finance, refinancing a home loan or a series of debts can assist in paying off high-interest debt such as credit card debt, with refinance at lower interest debt such as that of a fixed-rate home mortgage. This can allow a lender to reduce borrowing costs by more closely aligning the cost of borrowing with the general creditworthiness and collateral security available from the borrower. For home mortgages, in the United States, there may be certain tax advantages available with refinancing, particularly if one does not pay Alternative Minimum Tax.

Most fixed-term home loan debt contains penalty clauses that are triggered by an early payment of the mortgage loan, either in its entirety or a specified portion. In addition, there are also closing and transaction fees typically associated with home refinancing debt. In some cases, these fees may outweigh any savings generated through refinancing the loan itself. Typically, one only rationally considers refinancing if the potential for a substantial cost savings exists, or if there is a need to extend the loan due to weak cash flow or other non-recurring commitments.

In addition some refinanced loans, while having lower initial payments, may result in larger total interest costs over the life of the loan, or expose the borrower to greater risks than the existing loan, depending on the type of loan used to refinance the existing debt. Calculating the up-front, ongoing, and potentially variable costs of refinancing is an important part of the decision on whether or not to refinance.


Copyright 2008 Harriman Systems


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