DO A STRATEGIC REFINANCE WHILE MORTGAGE RATES ARE LOW
You’ve probably heard that mortgage rates are low. I’m sure all of your friends and neighbors who do mortgages are coaxing you into a refinance about now but before you pull the trigger make sure you’re making the most of this low-interest-rate environment. A standard Mortgage Refinance may not be the best thing for you but doing a Strategic Refinance could benefit you for years to come.
I specialize in Reverse Mortgages so most of my clients have already retired. Unfortunately, far too many of my retired clients weren’t able to set aside enough money to live the way they’d like to. That is why I wanted to write this article. To give you the advice they wish they had 20 years ago so you can set yourself up to be more financially free in retirement.
You’ve heard that a home/Mortgage for most people is their biggest asset and liability. The good and the bad of this is that this makes it the most powerful tool you have to either increase your financial freedom or sink your own ship.
Standard Mortgage Refinance –
A standard refinance is what most Loan Officers will offer you. They’ll pay off your existing mortgage with a new one. Maybe offer a lower interest rate and payment but they do little to help you plan for the future. That’s because they know you’ll be back again in a few years to do it again.
Strategic Mortgage Refinance –
A Strategic Mortgage Refinance is what you get from a true Mortgage Professional. It’s where we take a good look at your current financial situation and design a long-term strategy that will help you save money every month and eliminate all of your debts.
What is it?
Well honestly, it’s different for every person because everyone’s situation is different.
For some people, a Strategic Mortgage Refinance could mean a debt consolidation loan to put all of their debts into one monthly payment. For others, it would mean cutting your loan term to a shorter term to help pay it off sooner with less interest.
Let me give you an example of some recent clients we’ve worked with.
The Griswalds (Not their real name of course)
This couple is in a very familiar situation. They bought their home a few years ago, values have gone way up and things are going well work so they’ve bought a few toys in recent years. Since they bought their home, they’ve also purchased two new cars, a boat, and have some substantial Credit Card Debts from vacations.
Their monthly debts looked something like this
- Mortgage — Balance of $335,000 with a payment of $1775
- Car Loans — Balance of $35,000 with a payment of $681
- Boat Loan — Balance of $40,000 with a payment of $755
- Credit Cards — Balance of $20,000 with a payment of $513
Their total Debt obligation is $430,000 with minimum monthly payments of $3,724.
This family has a few options:
- Low payment option – With this option, we simply roll all debts into the mortgage. This will raise their mortgage balance to $430,000 but only raises their mortgage payment by $300 which will save them $1,654 a month in payments.
- Debt Elimination option – This is the option I prefer. By rolling all of their debts into the mortgage but reducing the new loan term to 12 years they would keep their current monthly payment the same but have everything paid off in just 12 years and be 100% debt-free.
- 20-year Mortgage – If they don’t want to keep making the same payment they could do a 20-year term. This still saves them roughly $1100 a month and pays their mortgage off 7 years ahead of schedule saving them $92,000 in interest payments.
By doing option 2 they essentially save themselves $352,302 in interest payments and they own their home free and clear in just 12 years which allows them to better prepare for retirement.
Don’t just refinance your mortgage while rates are low. Let’s create a plan to take advantage of this opportunity and set you up for true financial freedom.
If you or someone you know is curious about refinancing please give us a call. We’ll look at your options for a low-cost Refinance while Mortgage Rates are Low.
Trevor Carlson
President – Reverse Mortgage Specialist
Heritage Reverse Mortgage
435-359-9000
www.heritagereversemortgage.com
Heritage NMLS #1497455 Trevor?s NMLS #: 267962
1060 South Main Street Bldg. A Suite 101B
St George Utah 84770