Refinancing can save you money, but the downside is that you have to restart amortization. Once again you are paying mostly interest at the beginning of your loan. But there are ways you can get around this, keeping your original pay off period and saving on interest charges.
Short-Term Refinance Loans
Lenders offer a variety of terms – 30, 25, 20, or 15 years. By refinancing for a shorter term you can closely match your original pay off date. Unfortunately, lenders don’t fraction year terms – such as 22 years and 4 months.
However, by choosing a shorter term, you may qualify for even lower rates. You can also pay off your loan sooner, further increasing your interest savings.
Self Increasing Your Payment On Refinance Loans
Another option is to refinance your mortgage for 30 years. Then make an additional principal payment each month to pay off your loan at the original date. You can use a mortgage calculator to determine this amount. You can also make one extra payment a year to reach the same results.
With this approach, you have control over your payments. For some this can be seen as a negative, since there isn’t the required payment. You can also pay off your loan earlier by increasing your principal payment even more.
Pre-pay “Cash Out” Refinance
The third option is to take out the original loan amount. Then prepay the principal amount to what you currently were at with your original loan. That way you will pay off your loan on your original terms.
This option gives you more control over the pay off date. But, you may be charged a higher rate for cashing out part of your equity.
Selecting the Right Refinance Option
Each approach has its own advantages and disadvantages. Mostly it comes down to a matter of preference and what works for your budget. However, do ask for rate quotes to see the difference in interest costs. Not only will you have a better understanding of the numbers involved, but you will also find the best APR.
By: Carrie Reeder
Posts Tagged ‘Interest Charges’
Refinancing Car Loans
January 12th, 2010
Refinancing a car loan is much easier than refinancing a home loan because of the little or no extra cost involved. As interest rates continue to drop, car loans can be refinanced, which help to lower payments.
Before refinancing, it is always advisable to check if the refinancing option will actually be beneficial. If you have had the loan for only a short period of time, like maybe half of the entire term of the loan, and if you can lower your interest rates by at least 1.5%, then refinancing is a good idea.
It would be advisable not to obtain another car loan for the same length of time as the original loan since that would mean paying more in interest charges than what was being paid on the original loan.
When shopping for a loan to refinance your existing car loan, you should be aware of the fees being charged. You will be charged anywhere from $4 to $40 to change the name of the lender on the car?s title. Some lenders absorb that charge while others pass it along to the customer under the guise of processing fees.
Before shopping for another loan, it is important to make sure that your original loan is a simple interest loan and there are no prepayment penalties.
There are a few things to be aware of when shopping for a refinancing car loan. If the loan is a pre-computed loan that is normally offered by second-rate lenders, there?s a good chance the lender will make use of a formula called ?Rule of 78s.? This formula is used to determine what amount of each month?s payment goes into interest and principal.
If the lender calculates a rebate of finance charges that he says is for early prepayment, it?s best to get up and walk away from that loan. This so-called rebate is in reality a prepayment penalty, which one shouldn?t have to pay.
By: Eddie Tobey
Refinance Loans
January 2nd, 2010
The most common reason that people refinance is to save money, but there are many other reasons why you should refinance.
1. What about refinancing to lower payment on a current loan:
You may be able to refinance your current loan at a much lower interest rate thus reducing your loan payments monthly. With interest rates at their lowest in years, you might be able to find some lower rates – sometimes far much better than what you are currently paying for your mortgage. Refinancing your mortgage or loan when rates are down could save you lots of money over the life of your mortgage loan.
2. Refinancing and Consolidating Debts:
Some choose to consolidate debts and refinance to replace loans of high-interest with a low-rate loan. Most loans being consolidated and or refinanced may include higher student loans, home loans and those “bad” credit cards. So, by refinancing and consolidating you will clear all your current loans and replace them with one low monthly payment with a better interest rate. Example of this would be on a 3,000 loan some homeowners can save in excess of $60 a month which is a big saving. A debt consolidation loan is one of the best solutions for anyone who has several monthly payments. Refinance loans will allows you to repay your existing loans from the money of a new loan .
3. Refinancing to Reduce the life of the Loan:
Reducing the term or life of your loan can help you save money over the loan duration. Example might be refinancing from a 9-year loan to a 5-year loan will result in higher monthly payment, however your total of the payments made on the loan can be reduced significantly. Also keep in mind that by doing this you will be able to build up your home equity much faster. A refinance loan often will save you thousands in interest charges over the term of the loan.
4. Refinancing your Variable to Fixed Rates:
Some people will often refinance in order to change their loan from a variable rate to a fixed rate . This will help you to achieve stability and the security of a fixed loan. Your Fixed loans are most popular when interest rates are low, and variable rates tend to be more popular when rates on the higher side. Rates that are low will allow you to refinance to lock in the low rates. When rates are high, you might prefer the short term discounted variable rates on a loan to obtain a lower payment. One of the biggest benefits to refinancing is having the ability to lock a low interest rate for the life of your loan.
When considering to refinance you should carefully look at all of your options so that the savings you make by refinancing out weigh the costs and penalties. Most homeowners can refinance, but the point is to find a loan that will better the existing loan or mortgage.
By: Troy Francis