| Analysis: US mortgage refinancing offers hope of stability
Amid the steady drumbeat of bad news for the US housing market, there are hopes that a recent dramatic fall in mortgage rates could help struggling homeowners refinance into cheaper loans, offering the prospect of much needed stability. But contrary to earlier periods when low mortgage rates prompted waves of refinancing activity, analysts say the silver lining could be tarnished by today's stricter lending standards, virtually closed securitisation markets and still high rates for non-conventional mortgages. All this while the dark cloud of falling house prices casts a shadow over new buyers. “Financing costs may have come down for some, but it would take an extreme optimist to see any break in the price slide," says Alan Ruskin, strategist at RBS Greenwich Capital.
Rate cut sparks rush to refinance mortgages
This is a great time for customers to achieve homeownership in a way that is sustainable for the long term." West Des Moines-based Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is part of Wells Fargo & Co., the nation's largest mortgage lender and the largest private employer in the Des Moines area.
In general, a mortgage is deemed "refinanceable" if it is 0.40 percentage point above current average mortgage rates. And the recent drops in mortgage rates could lead to the refinancing of as many as 7 million mortgages, or more than 70 percent of U.S. mortgages, according to estimates by Tony Crescenzi, a fixed-income analyst at Miller Tabak. David Motley, president of Fort Worth, Texas-based Colonial National Mortgage, which originates loans in all 50 states, is expecting an even larger applications surge this week and beyond.
Refinance A Second Mortgage - The Right Choice To Save Money Every ...
There are many homeowners in America that have a second mortgage. If you're one of these homeowners, you may have wondered about refinancing your it. Can you refinance it, and if you can, should you? As with many financial questions, the answer to your refinancing question may be simple to answer, or it may be a bit more complex. It all depends on your particular financial situation. First of all, if you have a second mortgage, many lenders will try to get you to combine your mortgages when you refinance. That's great for them. They get a larger loan on their books that way. It may or not be the right course of action for you, however. It depends upon the terms and balances of both your mortgages weather you should combine your first and second mortgages when refinancing. If your first mortgage has a low rate it may be better to just keep it as it is.
Minorities in US hit hardest by housing crisis
In May, Alvin Clavon received a foreclosure notice on the simple, Spanish-style house in South Los Angeles that he shares with his wife and three boys. Clavon bought the place in 2003 with a fixed-rate loan. They painted the walls, fixed the yard and made friends with the neighbors, who let the Clavon boys pick their basil. In 2005, worked with a mortgage broker to refinance his home with another fixed-rate loan. But on the night before signing, the family was offered an interest-only, adjustable-rate mortgage. Clavon, a 35-year-old executive assistant at a bank, said he felt stuck. The ball was rolling, he trusted his broker and so the next day, he signed the loan. "Turned out to be the worst thing I could have done," said Clavon, who like so many others in danger of losing their home to the U.S.
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