With or Without Harp here are 5 ways you might Refinance your Home!

Are you considering refinancing your home? You cannot listen to all the the talk of low Mortgage rates and not consider looking into it. Maybe you have some equity and would not mind taking out a little cash right now. The problem is the devil that is on your shoulders. Yes, there are naysayers out there that say that it cannot be done or that you would be crazy to cash out of your home right now. I know I get it. Jealousy is a disease of the worst kind. The bottom line is that if you are considering refinancing there are a few different options that you have.The following is a list of opportunities that may be available to you:

1. Streamline FHA – This is a simple and effective way to lower your rate on your FHA mortgage. If you currently have a rate that exceeds 5.875% then you may want to talk to your professional. There are limited costs such as title insurance, processing and few miscellaneous. You will receive a refund from the upfront MIP that you paid or financed initially and that can be applied to your costs. In most cases that I have done or seen the borrower brings their monthly payment to the close of escrow or less.
2. VA IRRL or VA Cash-out Refinance - The VA IRRL is similar to and FHA streamline. The goal is to minimize the cost of the refinance so the Veteran can lower the rate on their note. A Cash Out VA loan is the same as a traditional cash out mortgage but for Veteran’s only and with certain restrictions.
3. DU Refi Plus - This program is part of the HARP (Home Affordability and Stability Plan) that was recently released. If your loan is owned by Fannie Mae you can refinance your first Mortgage to 105% of the homes value. If you have a second in place then that second can be subordinated to an unlimited CLTV. This will vary case by case and lender by lender and many of the wholesalers have their own overlays. Overlays are added guidelines to protect their investors. Essentially stricter underwriting.
4. Freddie Mac’s Relief Refinance Mortgage – This Program is the same as the DU Refi Plus but Freddie Mac requires that you return to the current servicer of the loan. What this means is that if you have a Freddie Mac owned loan and that loan is serviced by Countrywide you will have to refinance with Countrywide. In my post Breaking News Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the rescue? I have listed the sites where you can find out who owns your mortgage.
5. Traditional Refinance – If you are one of the few that have equity in your home you have the ability to capitalize on today’s low rates. The one concern is the appraisal on many of these loans because often times the lender will do an AVM or Desk Review of our appraisal. This is especially common when you are looking to take cash out of the property. Here are a few ways to refinance traditionally:

• Rate and Term Refinance – A rate and term refinance is simply as it states. It is when you refinance to lower the rate or the term of you mortgage. Many cases you can do both at the same time. I have several clients that are taking advantage of this opportunity right now. They are cutting the term of their mortgage from 25-30yrs to 15-20 yrs.
• Cash-Out Refinance – A cash out refinance occurs when you borrow equity from your home. The cash may be used to pay off debt, home improvements, vacation, investing or whatever else you choose to do with it. WARNING – The appraisal on a cash-out refinance will be scrutinized the higher the LTV. Also, there are costs that are associated with a cash-out refinance that you will not incur on a rate and term refinance. It is part of the risk based pricing that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have gone to.
• Government Cash Out or Rate and Term Refinance - This is the same as the traditional except that it is bound by Government Guidelines. For Example FHA has limited refinance transactions to 85% LTV.

As always this information is to help you gain a better understanding on what may be available to you. I strongly encourage you to consult you mortgage professional and find out your options today!

Thank you,

Matt Freeman

Mortgage Insurance: Definitions in Mortgage

Mortgage Insurancecan be like gum on your shoe on a hot day. In the years 2002-2007 everyone would avoid Mortgage insurance like is was a plague. The way that we would avoid Mortgage Insurance was by getting an first mortgage and combining with a second mortgage. This type of structuring was commonly referred to as 80/20, 80/10/10 or 75/25. This numbers referred to the LTV/CLTV (http://mattfreeman.wordpress.com/2009/03/19/loan-to-value-definitions-in-mortgage-continued/) .

The break-even of an investor that is lending money is considered to be 80% so if you borrow less than 80% than the investor does not need any protection. If you borrow more than 80% on one loan then the investor wants to have protection in the event you default. When you default and they have to take back the property and they have giving 90% of it’s value their loss can be 10% or greater after all the expenses to foreclose. Please be aware that there are a few exceptions to the rule namely VA and USDA loan programs.

This is where Mortgage Insurance comes into play. The mortgage insurance protect the investor when a consumer defaults and repays them for any losses that they may take. Mortgage Insurance can take on many forms and I suggest that you talk to your Mortgage Professional for the one that may best suit your situation. A few of the types of Mortgage Insurance are as follows:

BPMI – Borrower Paid Mortgage Insurance - commonly used with an FHA loan borrower paid mortgage insurance is paid by the borrower on a monthly basis. For FHA there is an Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium and then the monthly expense. This monthly expense is in addition to your principle and interest payment, your taxes and you homeowners insurance.

LPMI – Lender Paid Mortgage Insurance – As the name states the lender pays the mortgage insurance premium for you in theory. What they do is raise the rate that you would have gotten by a said amount to cover their risk. The increased rate that you pay covers the losses because the rate is above market. (Why would you want this?)

I am glad you asked that question. In 2007, Mortgage Insurance, became tax deductible. (please note that I am not a CPA and any information here is strictly to illustrate my point. Please consult your CPA for your situation prior to making a decision). However, there were some provisions to what and who could deduct this premium. If you make greater than 100K gross you cannot deduct BPMI. Those that are in that category would have better tax benefits going with LPMI because the MI is built into the rate and Mortgage Interest is always deductible(primary residence).

The reason that 80/20 or 75/25 or 80/10/10 were popular was because the first mortgage was under the 80% break-even and the second mortgage would generally attach a higher rate by 2-3% to absorb the risk they were taken. Second Mortgage were also smaller loans.

You may here the terms PMI(private mortgage insurance), BPMI, LPMI, MIP(mortgage insurance premium) and it can get very confusing. I always recommend that you consult your professional to help explain anything you may be unsure of.

To end this summary of Mortgage Insurance I like to always give a few examples of what I might recommend and when we need or do not need mortgage insurance.

Ex. 1 -  Purchase Price 100K and you need a loan for 85K. Do we need Mortgage Insurance? The answer is yes. Since we are borrowing over 80% of the value of the home BPMI or LPMI would be needed. Another way to finance this to avoid Mortgage insurance would be to do an 80% first mortgage and a 5% second mortgage and putting 15% down. However, second mortgages are the 2009 dinosaur equivalent. They are almost extinct.

Ex. 2 – Purchase Price 200K and you need a loan for 160K.  Do we need Mortgage Insurance? The answer is no. In this case the LTV is exactly 80% and at this LTV and below there is no need for Mortgage Insurance.

In summary, Mortgage insurance is a fee that is paid by you and it is to protect the investor that is taking the chance on lending you more that 80% of the value of the home. It can be dropped when your home reaches that 80% LTV range but can be difficult to do. If you have an FHA mortgage they require 60 payments and a LTV of 78% before you an get rid of it.

If you have any questions regarding what is in this post please leave a comment or call me in the office. Thank you for your time.

As Always, Thank you for reading.

Matt Freeman