With all the buzz surrounding San Mateo mortgage refinances lately, I have received a lot of questions asking for refinance tips. Bottom line, there are right reasons and wrong reasons to refinance your mortgage. And…when you see too good to be true interest rates, you should ask a lot of questions and get everything in writing (including closing costs) to make sure you aren’t way overpaying in fees.
In the Mortgage Refinancing Mistakes to Avoid guide, I detail 12 common mistakes San Mateo homeowners make when refinancing their mortgage loans and how you can avoid them for a smooth transaction. Here are 2 out of the 12 mistakes to get you started:
Mistake #3: Only Considering the Mortgage Interest Rate When Choosing a Lender
All too often, people choose a lender for the wrong reason. They call around asking for today’s interest rates and decide to go with the person who quotes them the lowest rate over the phone. Although this may sound like the best way to shop for a loan, you could end up paying much more with extra and/or higher fees and charges. Not to mention, unless you have a pre-approval in hand and have already submitted your documentation to a lender, it doesn’t matter what today’s rates are. Rates change every single day and maybe even several times per day and unless you are ready to move forward now, today’s interest rates mean nothing to you.
To protect yourself from paying too much, ask your lender to put everything in writing. We provide our clients a detailed Good Faith Estimate with all of the costs and fees they will pay to close the loan so they can compare our costs with other companies. If your lender will not give you the costs in writing, you should find another lender.
Tip: Don’t just consider the interest rate when choosing a lender. Get their quote (Good Faith Estimate) in writing to compare all of the fees and charges to know if you are really getting the best deal.
Mistake #4: Not Working with a Lender that Will Alert You When There is an Opportunity to Save Money After Closing
When you choose to go forward with The Chris Williamson Team, our service does not stop at closing. We input your loan information into our Mortgage Monitoring System and when there is an opportunity for you to save money on your monthly mortgage payment, or when another loan program would be more suitable for your financial goals, or when you can cancel your mortgage insurance, we will let you know. We also have a yearly mortgage review with each of our client’s so we can evaluate their financial situation to see if any changes need to be made.
Tip: Work with a Mortgage Advisor whose service does not stop when the loan closes. Also, ask your Mortgage Advisor if they will alert you when there is an opportunity for you to save money on your mortgage.
To get a copy of the complete, Mortgage Refinancing Mistakes to Avoid guide please fill out the form below and it will be emailed to you immediately.
cforms contact form by delicious:days
Other Posts You May Enjoy
- Auto Lock Program Ensures Seamless Refinance
- Popping and Locking – Interest Rate Style
- Why Do Some San Mateo Homeowners Decide Not to Refinance Their Mortgage?
- How Will the HR-3221 Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 Affect San Mateo County?
- The Mortgage Shopping Guide
Enjoyed this Post? Why Not Subscribe?
If you have enjoyed San Mateo Mortgage Blog, please subscribe to our RSS feed.
Chris Williamson is a Mortgage Advisor with Mortgage California specializing in San Mateo Mortgage.
Related posts:
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Interesting advice. I’ve met lenders who have offered to watch the daily rates for their clients, locking them in when the rates drop below a threshold.
Absolutely. We not only monitor interest rates and market conditions for new clients looking to refinance, but we also put all of our clients into what we call the Mortgage Adoption Center. This system monitors our clients’ current mortgage rate and will alert them any time there is an opportunity to save money on their mortgage. Whether it be due to an interest rate drop, new loan program or cancellation of mortgage insurance, we let them know. Those clients who have signed our Auto Lock Agreement, where they have given us permission to lock their rate once it drops below a certain rate will never miss an opportunity to save money on their mortgage. We provide this service free to our clients, as well as any home owner who would like to sign up for the program. You can sign up by visiting http://www.MortgageAdoptionCenter.com or by contacting us.