30 year fixed rate

Quote from kksully6 : Who has the best rates without closing costs? We got burned in the last mortgage mess with unbelievable closing costs. Dont want to go through that again but would like to get a better rate. We are paying 4.25%, any suggestions?:

I would look at Penfed (federal credit union open to US citizens), your local credit unions, and price compare with local banks. Rates can vary quite a bit - depending on where you live. In our area, you can find a 30 year around 3.5%.

I would also make sure about fees (not just closing costs) - Is there a fee for processing or a title search? They may say the closing costs are covered but have "additional" fees.

Good luck. I would make sure to crunch the numbers before you refi. I would also make sure you don't have a pre-payment penalty if you pay off the mortgage early.

StarNova gave great advice: shop around. In addition to that, to keep it simple and easy for you to understand and compare, only compare loans that have 0 points. This way, you're only comparing the interest rate and closing costs. It will be much easier to compare the offerings from lender to lender this way.

This thread has a lot of discussion. You'll should also provide more information on where you're at, LTV, etc for people to give you a better answer.

Quote from Brian1 : StarNova gave great advice: shop around. In addition to that, to keep it simple and easy for you to understand and compare, only compare loans that have 0 points. This way, you're only comparing the interest rate and closing costs. It will be much easier to compare the offerings from lender to lender this way.

As a note, not everyone charges the same fees. You have to do your diligence or you'll be surprised. Some companies may have higher title fees, appraisal fees, etc. Some companies are more front about it than others. The Good Faith Estimate is the document to give you the best idea of how much you'll be paying. But for comparison, I would use APR since its a normalized value of how much you'll be paying to close a refi.

Thanks for all the advice, we live in Maryland and keep getting bombarded with everyone offering to refi our loan. Just want to make sure we are getting the best deal before we do this. The good faith estimate, will everyone do this without a charge if we ask for this?

Quote from kksully6 : Thanks for all the advice, we live in Maryland and keep getting bombarded with everyone offering to refi our loan. Just want to make sure we are getting the best deal before we do this. The good faith estimate, will everyone do this without a charge if we ask for this?

They should I believe it is required by law.

Absolutely, prior to even taking an application one of the first things I do is detail the costs, line by line.
This is extremely important, as the next step is looking at your various rate options and the lender credits (or costs) associated with each rate.

Once the application is taken the Good Faith Estimate must be generated within 3 days.

Also, do not settle for a pitch where someone tells you just one rate. If spelled out properly for you, you will be presented with choices and enough information to accurately know exactly the loan you are getting.

Surprises do not work well in this matter.

-Adam
Old Hippy & Mortgage Pro

Thanks for all the great information. I am going to try penfed, they seem to have great rates. I really got burned last time around and I dont want that to happen again. I guess you live and learn.

Quote from kksully6 : Thanks for all the great information. I am going to try penfed, they seem to have great rates. I really got burned last time around and I dont want that to happen again. I guess you live and learn.

look at the website www.amerisave.com. Their rates are legit but they do a low-cost closing model.
The only place you could get burned with them is if get a appraiser who could low ball your house value. But then that can happen with any one.

My local guy hands-down beats all the rates , he is in Austin,TX. not sure if does refis in MD, but you could give them a try.
http://www.austinfirstmortgage.com/
Let me know if you are interested and I can send you the names of people who you can talk to.

My 15yr fixed mortgage rate is 3.25%..0 points.
Now the rates seem to be down to 2.75%. Is it worth refinancing after all the closing cost and all the rest?
If not, when would it be a good time to refinance?

Quote from ambercrombe : My 15yr fixed mortgage rate is 3.25%..0 points. Now the rates seem to be down to 2.75%. Is it worth refinancing after all the closing cost and all the rest? If not, when would it be a good time to refinance?

What is the remaining principal balance?
How long do you plan on remaining at that house?
Do you have a rough estimate of the total cost of closing?

We want a 30 year loan, we plan on staying there for a long time. Want to keep closing cost very low! That is where we got burned last time, closing costs are ridiculous. That is what we are shopping around for, low rates and very low closing costs. I am still waiting for an estimate from pen fed.

Also need to ad FirstIB to this list. They list several options under refi. 0 points, - points as well where you get credit to go towards your closing and other fees.