Mortgage Rates today? Refi time or wait?

[Neilk]

Can someone tell me what today's mortgage rates are today? Broker is offering 5.50%

What are the chances of them going lower?

Thanks!

[legion]

I'm at 6% fixed.

Is a .5% drop worth a refi?

[alf]

What are the chances of getting approved?

[stomachmonkey]

Depends on what your current rate is.

You need to get the delta between the old and new rate then factor the closing costs for the new to see where the break even is.

May take you longer to get even than you plan to stay in the house.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Rates are going to go lower, the fed has pretty much said so. There's even talk about dropping the prime lending rate to zero.

If you can find a bank still willing to do refis though, I'd say it's certainly worth a look...

[Rick Lee]

Unless you plan to live there well past your break-even point, it's not worth it. You don't save a dime until that day, which is often years away.

[Joe Ricard]

Navy Federal credit. 4.875 for a 15yr fixed.
Dang I should find another house to buy.

[Rot 911]

Or you can just make extra principle payments on the mortgage. Same end result of paying the house off sooner and lowering the amount you pay in interest. Also saves you the cost of refinancing.

[JavaBrewer]

I'd rather have the option of paying extra principle on a 30yr than lock myself into an aggressive 15yr mortgage schedule.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Originally Posted by dmoolenaar

I'd rather have the option of paying extra principle on a 30yr than lock myself into an aggressive 15yr mortgage schedule.

+1.

You can always overpay, and it's HUGELY advantageous to do so.

The problem is, most people lack the discipline to do it and instead use the "extra" money they're saving on their mortgage every month by having a 30-year versus a 15 to go buy crap like 22" spinner rims or vacations to Hawaii or on iPhones.

But if you're one of the 5% that can do it and pay an extra mortgage payment (or two) with what you're saving every year, definitely do it.

I looked at a mortgage calculator (I think I have it bookmarked at home) that was simply staggering - it showed that if you paid two extra mortgage payments on a standard 30-year fixed each year, you'd have the thing paid off in something like 21 years and you'd save over $100k in interest on a $300k purchase. It was unreal how effective the extra payments were.

[Dantilla]

I went to a 15 year fixed a few years ago.

The very first payment has more money going to principal than interest. Even making just the minimum payment every month will have far less money applied to interest over the life of the loan than making the "thirteenth payment" which is so popular in the bi-weekly payment plans.

I'm whacking a serious chunk of principal off my mortgage every month. Sure, the payment is bigger than what a 30-year would be, but I'm financially pretty conservative, and kept the payments far below what the bank would lend me. I have a very nice house. No need to by a McMansion just because the bank says I can.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by Dantilla

I went to a 15 year fixed a few years ago.

The very first payment has more money going to principal than interest. Even making just the minimum payment every month will have far less money applied to interest over the life of the loan than making the "thirteenth payment" which is so popular in the bi-weekly payment plans.

I'm whacking a serious chunk of principal off my mortgage every month. Sure, the payment is bigger than what a 30-year would be, but I'm financially pretty conservative, and kept the payments far below what the bank would lend me. I have a very nice house. No need to by a McMansion just because the bank says I can.

Regardless of your amortization term, you are always welcome to knock out extra principal each month. Some folks have to be forced into it with a 15 yr. note. You can get a 30 yr. note and stlll add $XX to extra principal every month. If you make one extra P&I payment per year or divide it by 12 and add that much each month, you'll knock the last seven years or 84 payments off the end of a 30 yr. amort. mortgage.

[djmcmath]

Originally Posted by Joe Ricard

Navy Federal credit. 4.875 for a 15yr fixed.

Sweet, I'm preapproved at NFCU for my upcoming house purchase. With any luck, we'll close in December.

Dan

[Dantilla]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Regardless of your amortization term, you are always welcome to knock out extra principal each month. Some folks have to be forced into it with a 15 yr. note. You can get a 30 yr. note and stlll add $XX to extra principal every month. If you make one extra P&I payment per year or divide it by 12 and add that much each month, you'll knock the last seven years or 84 payments off the end of a 30 yr. amort. mortgage.

True. What sold me on the 15 year was the interest rate: 4.75%. Couldn't touch that with a 30 year.

I was already paying more than the 15 year payments with the old 30 year, as I'm a big fan of extra principal payments. With the same cash outlay, I now pay more principal, and less interest than I was before the switch.

I should have my house paid off about the time my daughter enters college.

[chuckw951]

Bump. From what I've read rates just came down a half a point. Anyone seeing 30-year fixed below 5.5%? At 5.25 or 5% I'm tempted to refi again.

[chuckw951]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=adn9kI2m2.GU&refer=worldwide

"Homeowners will soon be able to refinance 59 percent of all mortgages outstanding, likely making convexity hedging an ongoing issue, wrote Fidelio Tata, head of derivatives strategy at RBS Greenwich capital in Greenwich, Connecticut, in a Nov. 25 report. With yields on 30-year current coupon securities dipping below 4.90 percent, mortgages with a 5.5 percent interest rate are now able to be refinanced, while those with a 5 percent rate will soon be eligible, he wrote. "

I don't understand all of this...but rates could be going even lower?

[look 171]

Originally Posted by Joe Ricard

Navy Federal credit. 4.875 for a 15yr fixed.
Dang I should find another house to buy.

How does one qualify for NFCU? That's sweet deal.

[Joe Ricard]

Hmm. Military service "I think" or have someone like a spouse sponsor you in. That's what I did.

I suppose there might be something on thier web site. http://www.navyfcu.org/about/membership.html

[chuckw951]

Submitted an application tonight 5.125% 30 year fixed.

[jrdavid68]

I'll be getting everything lined up with a broker and then waiting.