Any good Refi deals going on?

[Bimmerbill]

I called USAA and to get the 3.825 rate it involved a lot of points! VA loan points were cheaper, but the VA loan fee was high.

[brewer12345]

Looks like Navy Fed is offering 3.875% for 1.875 points, or .875 pointd for a .25% increase in the rate. They offer to eat up to $2500 in closing costs.

[samclem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bimmerbill I called USAA and to get the 3.825 rate it involved a lot of points! VA loan points were cheaper, but the VA loan fee was high.

If you haven't done it, I'd recommend that you go to the USAA web site and use their mortgage calculator to see your options. At least for me, that's much better than doing this kind of thing by phone. It takes about 2 minutes and you can check out the various point/APR combinations for 30 year fixed, 15 year fixed, 5-1 ARM, etc. You can expand the options to see the difference in monthly payments, etc. Be sure to take a look at that--at these rate levels, a .25% difference in APR equates to about $13 per month in payments for each 100K borrowed. It might make sense to pay the points if you plan to keep the house (and the mortgage) a long time, but if you'll be selling in a few years it's probably advantageous to take the higher rate loan.

Along the same lines, maybe back up a step and see if the costs you'll incur (points and settlement costs, etc) even make it worthwhile for you to refinance given the amount of time you plan to be paying this mortgage.

Any points can be included in the loan amount, if that makes things easier regarding money required at the closing of the loan. It's still money that you owe, but at least you don't need dollar bills when you sign the papers.

[Bimmerbill]

Well, my goal is to get a lower payment since I need some cash to recover from my recent divorce. I'd like to move closer to work, but that may not be possible due to child custody issues.

I am not sure what USAA was talking about when I spoke to them. The rep said something about 9 points and I said I've never seen a loan with 9 points. That was to get the rate 3.825.

I'll check out Navy Fed again though, thanks!

[samclem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bimmerbill I am not sure what USAA was talking about when I spoke to them. The rep said something about 9 points and I said I've never seen a loan with 9 points. That was to get the rate 3.825.

bimmerbill,
For your reference, today at USAA:
30 Yr fixed rate 3.875% (APR = 4.138%), costs 2 points, monthly P&I per $100K borrowed = $771
30 Yr fixed rate 4.250% (APR = 4.388%). costs 0.5 points, monthly P&I per $100K borrowed = $793

15 yr fixed rate 3.25% (APR = 3.598%), costs 1.25 points, monthly P&I per 100K borrowed = $ 1005
15 yr fixed rate 3.625% (APR = 3.791%), costs 0.0 points, monthly P&I per 100K borrowed = $1024.

Of course the web site has many other options of points/rates, as well as the rates and caps for 5/1 ARMs.
When comparing rates, it's useful to use APRs rather than the "interest rate".

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by samclem When comparing rates, it's useful to use APRs rather than the "interest rate".

Only for fixed rate loans. APRs for ARMs are effectively meaningless and one should look at a combination of the initial rate and what the rate could be upon reset.

[samclem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 Only for fixed rate loans. APRs for ARMs are effectively meaningless and one should look at a combination of the initial rate and what the rate could be upon reset.

Right, I should have said that. With ARMs it's all about the caps, reset schedules, and how long you plan to keep the house--or at least the mortgage.

[Bimmerbill]

You know, I saw the same rates listed on the USAA page, but when I called they wanted crazy points to get to 3.8.

On a side note, how close are Credit Karma credit scores to the real deal? The USAA rep asked me my credit score and when I logged in to Credit Karma I realized I had under reported my score by 60 or so points.

[brewer12345]

Mine were pretty close. Credit Karma was a bit lower than my actual scores.

[Bimmerbill]

Cool, thanks for the info. I think I will call USAA again and see what the deal is.

[dtbach]

I'm doing a refi of a 15yr @ 5.25 to a 10 yr @ 3.125 plus taking out 10K in cash to buy a new car next year. Had 9 years left on the 15 so no big deal. Monthly bill should go down about $280 from the previous.

[ohyes]

We are re-financing--just have to sign those final papers when they ready. Our credit score was 13 points higher than shown on Credit Karma at the last update.

[Tif7]

I check wholesale mortgage rates before I rate shop. Being a retail customer I expect a mark-up. Typically the best quotes have been around 0.625% above wholesale, which I am happy with. I always opt for no closing costs, no points, no pre-payment penalties, no escrow for taxes or insurance. Conforming loan, excellent credit, LTV <= 80%. Google will get you a site providing daily wholesale data on a variety of products.

T

[Bimmerbill]

I used mortagemarvel.com and found a few good prospects. Anyone heard of aimloan.com? Seems to be a direct broker?

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bimmerbill I used mortagemarvel.com and found a few good prospects. Anyone heard of aimloan.com? Seems to be a direct broker?

If you look at the fatwallet finance forum they have a whole humongous thread on mortgages. Do a quick search and you will get an idea as to whether they are a mess or not.