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No-fee refinance has existed in the mortgage
industry for over 15 years. No-Fee refinance has a
slightly higher rate of interest than the other
mortgage loan. This mode of refinance is usually
termed as no-fee refinance because the refinance
mortgage is not inclusive of the following fees as
usually included in the other mode of refinance
mortgage:
- Appraisal fee - Credit
report - Lenders fee - Brokers
fee - Title Insurance - Escrow
fees - Recording Fees
No-fee refinance loans have gained popularity
in the refinance markets demand due to the growth
property values and the consequently increasing
loan amount. However, no-fee refinance is not
available on smaller loan amounts and as a
borrower your credit cannot exceed the total non-
recurring closing costs. The non-recurring closing
costs are Property taxes, Interest and Insurance.
As a borrower it is important to be sure of
what you really want and you should be totally
aware of what you are really getting from your
lender. Due to unscrupulous lending practices
occurring in the secondary market, lenders are
appropriately under increasing scrutiny and
consumers are often doubtful of the lending
activity. Hence, it is important to do your
homework about the no-fee refinance structure and
modes of borrowing before you sign any dotted
line.
Borrowers often tend to confuse no-fee
refinance with no out-of-pocket loan. No-fee
refinance and no out-of-pocket are however, two
different loan structures. In the no-fee refinance
mortgage closing cost is not included in the loan
amount and this is what differentiates it from
other loan structure.
If you are still confused, the best way to
determine whether your loan is truly a no-fee
refinance loan is to simply verify the current
outstanding loan balance on your existing loan to
be paid off so that it is equal to or more or less
close to the same as your new loan amount and make
certain that the only fees you are paying out of
pocket are the recurring costs of interest, taxes
and insurance due. Next add up all the
remaining non-recurring closing costs on the
estimated closing cost statement and make sure you
are receiving a credit from your lender equal to
that total amount. This will ascertain that you
are moving towards a no-fee refinance structure.
As a borrower you should consider a no-fee
refinance only if you are planning to buy own a
property for not more than five years or if you
are short on cash to close on a purchase. You can
determine this by calculating your break-even
point. Calculating your break-even point is very
simple, just look at the difference in your
payment for a no-fee refinance loan and a loan
with a costs & fee and the and then divide the
difference into the amount of non-recurring
closing costs that you would have to pay on
closing. This result will help you to understand
how many months it would take you to earn the
expenses of the closing costs so you can then
compare that time length to the frame of time you
anticipate living in the property.
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