So closed today at 2.875%/30yr fixed with Strong Home from Costco's program. Originally closed on this house 4 years ago at 3.25%/30 yr fixed. Since this is a pretty young refinance, the loan officer was able to waive the appraisal and survey, plus credit about half the other closing costs. My loan was about $1k above the current balance, paid about $2k in closing costs. Total APR at 2.876% with a ridiculously cheap closing costs to lower payments by $300/month. Yeah, after amortizing the old loan compared to the new loan, the new loan is about $15k more expensive, but reinvesting that $300/month difference yields much more. Edit: Also of note, this refi was done quick. I had all my documents in order so there was no delay on my end. But I started this process earlier this month. Spoke with 3 different Costco lenders and took one day of quotes to decide Strong had the best rate with lowest closing costs. Loan officer able to close within 3 weeks.
What's this about a housing market crash? Are industry people predicting this? Inventory in my area (PNW) has been very low for several years and houses are still selling quickly, often over asking price. Would expect a crash to be preceded by a glut of homes on the market.
I am also in the process of getting a refi through Rocket Mortgage (aka Quicken Loans) but they're impressively slow. I first locked the rate and submitted all the paperwork in mid-July. We bought a house last year at 3.99% / 30 years and will be refi to 2.875% / 20 years . Monthly payment will stay about the same with an increase of about $100/month, but it'll knock so off much total interest. Net refi cost will only be about $600 since there was an American Express and Rocket Mortgage promotion that gives me $2500 in amex statement credit. Hopefully the refi will close soon. They finally completed the step of confirming the payoff amount last week.
Was looking at doing a refi. I have a 3.62% rate with about 11 years left (I pay extra monthly). I was assuming about 2500 or so for closing costs, and would only net me about 2500 or so in interest over the life of the loan. So I might just stay. Might get a quote or two just to see what actual rate and closing costs are though.
If you're not using or leveraging that equity, it's 'Dead Equity' and really doesn't do anything for you besides increase your tax burden. If you get a HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit), you can say that equity is a liquid asset and invest in other things like rental property.
I think when this thread was started (March) people were expecting the worse. The opposite has sort of happened.
So my wife and I looked at refinancing too. We are 11 years into a 30 year mortgage at 4.5% and we recently got a quote back from a local bank that knocks the percentage down to 2.5% but they wanted like $7K in costs/fees. We live in Arkansas but we do have a Costco Executive Membership (we to the one in Memphis regularly) which I knew came in handy for a lot of other things but did not know about refinancing homes. How do you go about applying through Costco?
What exactly do you mean here? I think I understand. We bought out house during the Great Recession. It was a foreclosure and the bank wanted $160K but they settled on $115K. The property values have risen and the house quoted at $242K when we did our last estimate for a refinance. We owe about $80K on the house now. Are you saying that we should definitely be using the equity through a HELOC or something similar or are you saying something completely different?
Google "Costco refinancing" and it'll take you directly to their quote portal. Watch the fees closely. Some lenders try to roll closing costs into the loan to make your out-of-pocket look less.
2.5% sounds crazy. I'm ready to take another look at this. Other than the Costco tip, what are you guys using to search for multiple offers?
Closing hopefully today on my refi. Went from a 30 year at freaking 4.875% (bought in December 2018), to 2.88% on a 20 year. I pay a lot of extra a month and plan to have it paid off in 10-12 years. Saving me over $160,000 in interest. No appraisal needed as it was just bought and the only addition was a new fence, $3500 to close. My interest payments went WAY down while my principal went WAAAY up.
People need to qualify what type of loan it is with their interest rates. 2.5% is normal for a 15 year fixed. I doubt a 30 year conventional is getting those rates. VA rates will also be about 0.5% lower than conventionals. Personally, I have no problem going with a 30-year conventional at such a low interest rate. Home mortgages are some of the lowest borrowing rates you can get. While it feels great to pay off the house and have no mortgage, investing your money will likely net better gains than paying off a low interest early.
I actually talked to a guy yesterday. The best quote I received after putting my info through Costco app was from Mutual of Omaha. I'm talking to someone else today. It was pretty easy. The guy did get a little too salesman-y but I might end up going with then. I will say, if your credit is great, you will get a better rate than what the app shows.
I think the amount was $803 but it was all rolled in to the loan so nothing out of pocket. As a PSA, Costco apparently shares your number with other entities once you submit your info. I've had a lot of new callers since I applied yesterday. Fortunately, Google Fi has a call screener built in that talks to them before they talk to me.
