What You Should Know About Bankruptcy Mortgage Refinancing
Most homeowners assume the door marked “Mortgage” is boarded shut for them after a bankruptcy. Refinancing is actually a financial necessity on the road to rebuilding your credit. Here is what you need to know about refinancing your mortgage after bankruptcy.
Refinancing your mortgage has many advantages: lower interest rates, lower monthly payments, cashing out equity, and rebuilding your credit, just to name a few. Because you have a bankruptcy on your record refinancing your mortgage will be more difficult, but not out of your reach. There are steps you need to take before you apply for a new mortgage; this will ensure you qualify for a decent interest rate and favorable terms on the new mortgage loan.
Watch out for “Computerized Origination Fees,” as many sites like Lending Tree charge ridiculous fees for filling out a form on their site. Lending Tree is notorious for this and will charge you as much as $1300 while claiming there is no fee to you for their service. The bottom line with online mortgage refinancing is to carefully comparison shop and read all the fine print before you decide on a loan.
If the mortgage lender you find is not requiring you to pay points for mortgage refinancing, consider paying a point or two to buy down your mortgage rate. Negotiate with your mortgage refinancing lender for lower rates and better terms. One of the most important aspects of your negotiations is that your loan must not include a prepayment penalty. Once you have build up your credit you will be refinancing this loan with a traditional mortgage lender and do not want to be hit with a hefty fee. Paying a point or two might not only get you a better rate but might convince your mortgage company to remove a prepayment penalty.
Getting approved for a new mortgage isn’t hard; the hard part is finding a good mortgage offer. Researching mortgage lenders and comparing a variety of mortgage offers will help you find the most competitive interest rates. When shopping for a mortgage compare all aspects of the loan offers: interest rates, annual percentage rate, lender fees, and closing costs all need to be carefully scrutinized before accepting a loan offer.
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