Refinancing can save you lots of money, especially right now with interest rates near record lows. But refinancing can quickly turn ugly if you don’t pay attention to every detail. Most times, refinancing your mortgage looks great at first glance, but you need to know when to refinance and how often.
Lately, interest rates have started to increase again, but rates were at record lows recently. Many home owners have taken advantage of the new interest rates and refinanced their mortgages. But some have been doing it again and again without seriously taking into account the negative aspects of refinancing multiple times.
Reasons for Refinancing a Second Time
Generally, home owners are advised to not refinance more often than every 3 years because the cost of refinancing is high and can quickly become a burden, making loans actually cost more than if they had stayed with the initial interest rates. The truth is that if you can refinance for a much lower interest rate and plan on living in the home for a long time, then refinancing should be considered, even if it hasn’t been 3 years since you last did it. Here are a few reasons why refinancing a second time is an attractive option.
- First, and most important, the more you can lower your interest rate, the more sense it will make to refinance again. Lowering your interest rate by, for example, 1 percent will result in great savings, which will far exceed the refinancing cost. Interest rates are on the rise right now, but they are still low, so refinancing again might still make sense. Before refinancing a second time, you must make sure that what you save in interest costs will exceed the cost of the refinance; otherwise, you will be losing money.
- Refinancing again can also help you remove a borrower from your mortgage. If, for example, you bought the home together with a friend or family member and one or both parties no longer wants to have their name on the mortgage, this can be rectified by refinancing. Most lenders will also require you to refinance if you want to remove your spouse from the mortgage after divorce.
- Refinancing for a second time before the recommended 3 years also makes sense if your financial situation changes. For example, if your income decreases, you might not be able to pay your mortgage anymore because the monthly payments are too large, so refinancing into a mortgage with longer terms will lower your payments. Changes in your financial situation can also mean that your credit score has improved, which will help you qualify for a better interest rate.
- A cash-out refinance can make sense, even if you just recently refinanced. This kind of refinance occurs when you take out a larger mortgage than the one you have now and receive the difference as cash. A cash-out refinance can provide money you might need for repairs, improvements, medical bills, or school tuition, but you need to understand that this will lower the equity in your home, so you will receive significantly less money if you decide to sell your home.
Refinancing your mortgage the second time around should not pose any difficulties, unless your credit score has gone down or you are facing other financial issues. You must keep in mind before starting the process that refinancing is expensive. Many home owners are so blinded by the new lower interest rate that they forget to take the refinancing cost into account and end up actually paying more than they did for their initial loan.