I am LFA on refinancing

[Annamarie]

In one year our interest rate is going up along with our payment of course. We were first time home buyers with not wonderful credit when we bought a year and a half ago. Since then we haven't missed any payments and have worked hard on getting other things paid well so that we could get a low rate when we refied.
Has anyone here ever gone with a credit union on a house? Anything else we really NEED to know before we start shopping for lenders? Are online lenders a good way to go?

[Brenda]

In one year our interest rate is going up along with our payment of course. We were first time home buyers with not wonderful credit when we bought a year and a half ago. Since then we haven't missed any payments and have worked hard on getting other things paid well so that we could get a low rate when we refied.
Has anyone here ever gone with a credit union on a house? Anything else we really NEED to know before we start shopping for lenders? Are online lenders a good way to go?

I strongly prefer to see buyers using local lenders when possible. Usually the internet lenders have higher closing costs (usually 2-4 times as much) and the interest rates are not any better than local lenders provide.

Do you have a standard mortgage or is it a funky 80/20 or 90/10 split? Who has your current mortgage? Start with calling them to see what they can offer you. I have refinanced our own personal mortgage more than once simply by calling our lender and asking. Last time we dropped down about .75%, refinanced at home with closing packet they sent out and had no closing costs. It was easy-peasy. We have Wells Fargo for our mortgage, but bought and some some land a year and a half ago with financing through a credit union. It was a very smooth experience as well.

If your current lender cannot do anything for you, start calling some of the other banks or credit unions in your area. Talk with a good loan officer and ask what they can offer you for a rate and what the estimated closing costs would be.

[Annamarie]

Wilshire Credit has owned our loan since almost the beginning. They bought it a month or two in. I think its standard since I know nothing about 80/20 or 90/10.

[Rosemary]

I strongly prefer to see buyers using local lenders when possible. Usually the internet lenders have higher closing costs (usually 2-4 times as much) and the interest rates are not any better than local lenders provide.

Do you have a standard mortgage or is it a funky 80/20 or 90/10 split? Who has your current mortgage? Start with calling them to see what they can offer you. I have refinanced our own personal mortgage more than once simply by calling our lender and asking. Last time we dropped down about .75%, refinanced at home with closing packet they sent out and had no closing costs. It was easy-peasy. We have Wells Fargo for our mortgage, but bought and some some land a year and a half ago with financing through a credit union. It was a very smooth experience as well.

If your current lender cannot do anything for you, start calling some of the other banks or credit unions in your area. Talk with a good loan officer and ask what they can offer you for a rate and what the estimated closing costs would be.


It's funny because in the past I've always given the advice to go local if you can, or at least start there. Did I take my own advice? Of course I did not. We are taking HELOC to get the $$ out of our house in the event it doesn't sell before we move (which I have every intention that it will...) but we owe nothing on our home and that is what we are doing. Well, after dickering around with the Wells Fargo guy for two weeks - trying to get him to pin down just what those little itty bitty fees are he keeps telling me about (yep that was his answer when I asked him about fees on the HELOC - just some itty bitty ones, 19$ here, $50 there, nothing major). I started to get a little leery so I tried pinning him down for it in writing. After 2 weeks and then him saying Oh we can't give you this % of LTV we can only give you this % I finally told him give it to me in writing, ASAP, and expressed my displeasure and told him we were this close to walking. Well he did, and um, yeah, little itty bitty fees included a $750 line origination fee PLUS a prepayment penalty of $500 if paid back earlier than 10 years. Well considering we were planning on paying it back, quite possibly within a couple months, this was a big deal - certainly not the itty bitty fees. Oh he also conveniently did not disclose the margin that I'd be paying. My rate was what he stated, but he failed to tell me about the margin, which could range from .24%- 4.74%. Oh and they were going to take 30 days to settle on the loan. We can't list our house until it is settled so it was important to get this done quicker.

So, I called our local bank who we bank with. Um, no fees, save for a $250 pre-payment penalty that they can't waive (still a whole lot less than his fees). No appraisal fee, no app fee, no 3rd party fees, no title insurance fee, nothing. And to boot, they have the best service I've ever experienced with banking. Oh, and we are settling Monday, so the entire process took less than a week.

Unfortunately this bank does not originate mortgages so we have to go with someone else, but we are going with a local bank, and our experience so far is going well. Cross your fingers.

So, yes my advice is start local if you can, or a credit union. Shop around for fees, because each company really is different, and they are not your friends. Also, ask questions and if it doesn't smell right, it probably isn't.

[Kerry]

I've always had the best luck using an independent mortgage broker. Best rates and terms, cheapest closing costs.

I agree. They have relationships with dozens of lenders and are able to do the legwork for you on finding the best deals.

Right now is a really good time to refinance, as the feds just dropped the rates again. And I'd strongly discourage getting another ARM, and instead go with a fixed-rate mortgage if at all possible. Are you credit scores relatively strong?

[Annamarie]

I am hoping we can get a fixed rate this time. I am not sure what our scores are right now. DH said he was going to look at them but between work and baseball (coaching 2 teams) he hasn't done it yet.

[Kerry]

I am hoping we can get a fixed rate this time. I am not sure what our scores are right now. DH said he was going to look at them but between work and baseball (coaching 2 teams) he hasn't done it yet.

Can you do it? It's easy to do online. Annualcreditreport.com offers completely free credit reports once yearly from the three agencies. To view your reports, you do not need to give them a credit card (as opposed to other sites). If you wish to view your FICO scores, you can do so for a fee.

[kathy caribe]

We have both gone local, credit union and brokerage. All except the credit union mortgage were sold (one within months of getting it). I would have no hesitation in getting a credit union mortgage. I'd also expect that it (the mortgage) would be re-sold, but maybe due to the mortgage crisis this isn't happening anymore?