Refinance???

Just remember it costs $$ to refinance so you need to weigh whether it is cheaper then getting another lown at whatever % you would then get

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Refinancing right now can take months. But it does sound like your best bet. You could also get a second opinion on the roof. We were quoted everything from 5000 to 11000 for ours. We went with the one that was 5 because he could do it sooner, it would be done faster ( 3 days) and he had shingles that were multilevel, not just flat. It came out really nice and looks great. He also had the longest and best warranty.

Yes you should refinance. 6.25% is a really high interest rate right now if you have good credit.

We refinanced our home to help eliminate monthly payments, so we consolidated some debt into our mortgage. I really wish we hadn't done it. Our mortgage became higher (obviously), but with what happened to the housing market, the value of our house went down. We now owe about $40,000 more than its current value, even though we refinanced for 80% less than the market value at the time. We know it will go up again, but it's still an ouch to feel the loss of the value of our house while owing extra money on it from refinancing.

Hi M.,

My wife told me about your situation and perhaps I can help. I am in Phoenix, Arizona and I have among the lowest rates and closing costs of any bank in the nation right now. If you have good credit, you can get a rate in the mid 4%'s right now! With that lower rate, I am confident you could get cash out and keep your payment about the same as you are paying now!!

I work for a certified upfront mortgage bank. What that means is we show you all the rates, payments and closing costs up front. That way there are no surprises or misunderstandings! If you like what you see, we invite you to apply with us.

My cell phone is ###-###-#### and my email address is ____@____.com -Please call me and we can talk about your situation and I will send you the custom quote.

Best regards.

Greg LaPointe
###-###-####

Talk to the bank who holds your mortgage about refinancing. They may be able to help you figure it all out. We refi through our currant bank and went from 6.75 to 4.7%

If you refinance, do it for ONLY the amount to repair the roof. I have had family (and myself) who refinanced to pay off all the credit cards, etc, then went back and charged them all up again. Definitely not a good idea.

Look at more than just the current payment and interest rate. How much more will refinancing cost you over the next 20 or 30 years (they charge lower rates because you are paying for so long, they can really clean up on that). And how much will it cost for the financing from the roofing company. When you sign for a loan there is a "Truth in Lending" statement that says how much interest you'll be paying over the life of the loan. But before that, you can just find out about what the monthly payments are and how many months, then multiply it out, then subtract the amount of the loan. Whatever is left is the interest (which can often be twice as much as the original loan, especially on a mortgage!)

Also find out if there will be any penalties from your current mortgage. Even if you refinance with the same lender, they *might* consider it an early payoff, and sometimes there's a charge within a certain time period.

You'll want to balance out whether it's better for you to have lower/fewer payments now or pay less in the long run. If getting the financing from the company will push you right to the edge of your budget, it's probably better to refinance (as long as that will be a lower monthly payment still). But if you still have some "wiggle room" take the other factors into consideration.

Hey M., I just gave out the info on an earlier post, but me and my boyfriend both work in an office where all we do is refinance. It sounds like your lender should definitley be able to lower your rates, we have been sending out loans at 4/25% for a month now. The program we offer, the VA Streamline loan allows borrowers to skip two mortgage payments (if they have the appropriate payment history and credit), we have only been doing VA loans, but are switching to FHA shortly. Please feel free to call and see if he can at least give you some advice.

Freedom Mortgage
Frank Sheldone
###-###-#### Office
###-###-#### Cell

You might want to get a second opinion on the roof and then I would talk to a trusted re-fi guy and get all the facts and fees and then make your decision. If you need a name of a re-finance guy, we have one that we really trust, and he did the re-fi on my sister's house as well, who doesn't live locally. Faxes are amazing things! Anyway if you are interested, send me a message and I'll give you the details. BTW, I'm not on his payroll!!

Good luck!

I have a suggestion on the roof.

My wife decided we needed a new roof. I think it could have lasted a few more years, but it was a concern to her. We got one estimate for $21,000. Then we tried to accumulate the money. When we couldn't, we got more estimates. We finally took the one for $6500. We waited until his other jobs were done, and he was looking to do our job or lay off his crew and he required cash or a check he could cash (now). I wrote him a check for 30% when he brought over the materials. I gave him another check when half the roof was done, and the rest of the money when it was completed.

If you decide to get more estimates, let each contractor bidding on your job know that you will be taking other bids. We found the most expensive time of year to get our roof done was during the summer. The least expensive time was between Thanksgiving and the 1st of February.

Good luck to you and yours.

How much is closing cost? If you pay $3000 to close, and your payment reduction is $144/mo, it will cost you ~3 years to pay that back. If you plan to stay for 6 yrs or more, you've paid the cost of that loan. What's your rate right now? If you get close to 2% decrease, that's a good move, but if closer to 1% might be a wash. How much would the roof loan cost over the loaned amount? How close to "scraping" are you now? If you're close to 50% debt-to-net income, perhaps just do what would cost less each month. Do you have emergency money should something happen to an income?

I've done 3 refis, and they were what I needed to do at the time, but I do regret the loss of equity now the market's down. Good luck:)

I think interest rates right now are lower than 6.25% Perhaps even less than 5%. I suggest you look into refinancing. If it were me I'd definitely refinance unless I couldn't get a lower rate because it's for the roof, a part of the house.

Seems like to make refinancing cost effective one has to lower the interest rate by a certain %.

Talk with your current mortgage company and see what they have to offer. You don't pay any money until you agree to refinance.

Compare the cost to refinance with the cost of a contract.

Definitely refinance if you qualify. Rates are so low that you will save tons of money over the life of your new loan. In addition, if you can you should look into getting enough to pay off your car loan as well. Even with the cost of the roof and the car loan, you might save enough in interest to keep a similar payment to the one you have now. Besides, wouldn't it be worth it to not have to worry about scraping the bottom of the barrel to make ends meet each month? It would not only save you money, but take the pressure off you financially as well.

As far as closing costs on the refi are concerned, many lenders are willing to work with you on that. Some will even roll the costs into the refi, and you will make them up over time. Closing costs really vary from one lender to another, so be sure to shop around and learn about refinancing before taking the leap.

I'm definitely not an expert on this, but we have refinanced a couple of times (able to knock off about 9 years from our mortgage through this process). But, they often will do an appraisal before they will go through with the refi. I am wondering if they will refi if you need a new roof. It might bring the value of your home down. I don't know. Like I said, I'm no expert.

My husband and I own a roofing company. Just wanted to advise you regarding your roof. It's always a good idea to get a few different quotes. Most companies require half down before starting and the remaining half upon completion.

It's strange to me that the one guy said it was more expensive to do a roof in the summer. Maybe it's a California thing. : ) Our prices are driven by the current economic climate, mostly by the cost of materials. It seems like the costs of materials have been steadily increasing (every few months) over the last few years.

Please make sure you use a licensed contractor! If you should have any problems with the installation of your roof, you need recourse. I can pretty much guarantee you will not be able to get an unlicensed contractor on the phone if you should encounter any issues. Also, cheaper is not always best. Make sure you really compare estimates - compare the materials, make sure you're getting your old roof torn off and not just an overlay, which is a horrible option. I suspect that is what the homeowner that commented below got when he paid for a $6,500 roof vs the $21,000 quote. That is a huge discrepancy. Either that, or the roofer was unlicensed and hard up for money. Remember, you get what you pay for!

Good luck!

We did that back in 2005 for a new A/C unit. Not sure whether to say go for it or not. I would check out both options though and make your decision from there.