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Time to Buy or Refinance Your Home?

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    2012 may be year to take advantage

  • Duration 4:02
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The only US economy had seen better days but things were actually looking pretty good the last couple weeks if you -- charge that could mean some pretty big savings this year to.

-- special -- your mortgage Freddie Mac says average rates on thirty year fixed -- is now three point 91%.

That missing record low.

Set just weeks ago still that's doing little -- boost the housing market you know it's really struggling to come back in in today's take charge consumer protection segment.

We want to take a look at how you can take advantage and why this may be the time for you to do that real estate and business attorney -- all of cents.

Joining us now great to see you Sherri thanks for being back with us.

Oh and thanks for having me that the folks among the most concerned about because if you can afford to buy a house right now you'll probably be able to figure out how to get the mortgage at this rate.

But the people who are sitting with -- house right now that is worth less than the amount they.

Is this a time is there -- method for them to benefit or take advantage right now.

Definitely and number one reason Jamie just -- is because the rates are at all time lows but the other reason is because.

The government has been tweaking some of the programs that they're making available for people you'll remember back in 2009.

The government came out with making home affordable and a modification program was the big push.

Well now the big push will be the refinance program.

Under making home affordable and they they've basically made changes to overcome the obstacles so you don't have to be.

Only a 125%.

Underwater you can be further underwater than that.

Your credit score is not as much of an issue the documentation isn't much of an issue that's -- programs will be yet they'll really roll out in February and march when the software comes -- -- Okay so search the Internet to find those government programs here's my question when I was a mortgage broker one of the things that I did even when the rates were high high high as I recommended to people if they couldn't qualify for a whole.

Mortgage like eighty or 90% may refinance or you get a mortgage for part of it.

-- to be creative in terms of the amount of a mortgage it is -- benefited -- maybe not refinancing a 100% right now.

That's an option and for folks who can pay down some of their mortgage obviously they have a lot more flexibility.

The only problem with that now is that -- he luck breaks although they've come down are still relatively high because so many of them so many of those lenders have taken losses because so -- -- home equity lines and just and taking an equity lines of credit yes the home equity lines of credit and really only the big banks are offering those.

So in that case folks may be better off just getting and you know a conventional second mortgage as opposed to a home equity line of credit.

The other problem with those home and -- equity lines of credit Jamie is that most of them contain provisions that allow the lenders to freeze them altogether -- to revoke them.

And a lot of people got caught with their pants down when their home values went down -- and all of a sudden their home equity lines of credit got locked what's your number one.

-- for someone that wants to take advantage of these low rates right now what -- -- keep in mind how do you find the best.

Really deal out there is in a bank is it some other financial institution where do you go what do you do.

Right well you know -- a former mortgage broker that the you have to -- three different rates you have to go to three different places.

People -- looking at the rates they're looking at the cost but you'll also need to look at the other terms if you only got five or ten years left on a twenty or thirty year mortgage.

You may not want to start that amortization period all over again and the lenders now have.

A lot of loans that will allow you to basically -- -- or readjust the rate.

On the remaining ballots -- up so that you don't have to extend for another -- -- -- thirty years that's something folks really should do because one thing we learned as we wanna get those loans paid off that.

A great -- so ask for the amortization schedule make sure you're not ending up paying so much more because you're going over thirty years see if you can tighten it up to the amount of time we have left on your loan I'd like to carry it thank you so much so lowest rates and we've seen in awhile folks hope you can take advantage.

Good to see you --

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