Ryan

The Refinance Hustle

I am currently in the process of getting the mortgage refinanced at a quoted rate of 4.25% for 30 years. It’s mostly been an exercise in scanning and faxing. W2s, pay stubs, 1040s, bank statements, insurance policies, even copies of driver’s licenses–it’s not a lot of fun, but it’s taught me a few things so far:

Work fast: These rates are really low. Really low. The longer it takes to get all of this done, the less chance there is they’ll stay low. In a state like ours with state income tax where you can deduct interest paid on a mortgage for your primary residence, interest rates below 5% are effectively negative taking into account both the interest deductions (state and federal) and inflation. If rates reach these kinds of levels, locking in the rate at a low level may translate into thousands upon thousands of dollars of savings.

Filing matters: All of those documents were located within twenty minutes; could’ve been even less had I known that they wanted all of them at one time. But if my filing system were less adequate, it could’ve been many hours–if not days. Those days could cost me percentage points–and dollars. Lots of them.

Discipline pays off: My credit scores were all above 775, two above 800. These point toward getting the best loan rates possible.

So while I’ve been anxiously running around getting paperwork submitted (as the holidays this week and next fast approach), some of my practices have been rewarded. I’m hoping that what this allows is a holiday present of a fantastic rate on a mortgage that never will have me wishing for refinancing again!

One Response to “The Refinance Hustle”

  1. [...] Refinancing a mortgage at 4.25%? That’s about the lowest anyone could ever hope to get.  See how Uncommon Cents is getting this done. [...]

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