Home Refinancing

Why Refinance?

3 Great Reasons to Refinance Your Mortgage.

Should you refinance your current mortgage? With interest rates near historic lows, refinancing is on the minds of many homeowners. But just because rates are lower doesn’t always mean you should refinance. Helping Hands’ mission, as your local non-profit mortgage company, is to help educate you about the pros & cons about refinancing. Here are the three most common reasons to refinance:

1. Lower your monthly mortgage payments

2. Shorten your loan term

3. Access home equity - Get Cash Out

If you have a paid-up mortgage or sufficient equity and would like cash, a new mortgage can help you access the equity in your home.

Consolidate your debts with a refi. Refinancing can provide enough savings on your mortgage payments to allow you to pay off higher rate credits cards or unsecured loans or roll those debts into the new loan thereby eliminating the monthly payments.

Get cash out! Life events such as healthcare expenses, divorce, passing of a parent, major home repairs, a new car, college tuition, a wedding, down payment assistance for an adult child, or getting a home ready to sell might all require immediate cash. Refinancing may be the best option.

You can even use the equity you have in your primary home to purchase income property or your dream vacation home.

With so many options, it’s imperative to get the facts about the cost and benefit of refinancing. Helping Hand’s experienced licensed loan officers will explain and answer all of your refinancing questions and, when appropriate, help arrange and guide you through the refinancing process.

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What are My Refinancing Options?

No two homes are alike, and no two refinancing scenarios are the same. There are many benefits to refinancing your mortgage. As a non-profit, we will not refinance your mortgage unless it is in your best interest to move forward. At no cost or obligation, we will look at your unique scenario and design a game plan for your success.

Please contact us for an informational discussion regarding your financial situation and housing goals that you would like to achieve. To be contacted by a Loan Officer, fill out the form to the right.

How Much Can I Save From Refinancing?

The most common refinancing question.

The only accurate answer is “It depends.”

“How much can I save by refinancing?”
The only accurate answer is “It depends.”

There are several ways to measure savings, including:

How much lower is your monthly mortgage payment; or
The total amount saved over the remaining life of the loan (for example, your monthly payment might go up while reducing the number of years of payments for a net effect of saving thousands over the remaining life of the loan); or
Your monthly payment might increase but you are able to boost your monthly cash flow by paying of more expensive non-tax-deductible interest debt such as credit cards; or
For many, it’s a goal of improving one’s quality of life. Such as that dream home renovation project. The joy of homeownership might be much higher than the increase in the monthly payment.

Helping Hands Community Partners will help educate you about all the variables that impact the amount you can save by refinancing. Such variables include:

Purpose of refinancing
Owner occupied, second home, investor properties
Mortgage credit scores
Debt-to-income ratios
Amount of home equity
Type of loan
Employment history

By asking you a series of questions, we can identify which loan programs you may qualify for and then help you choose the best option to achieve your goals. This takes the guesswork out of the process and prevents surprises later.

Secrets to Getting the best rate

"What's the rate?" The correct answer is “it depends.”

The loan rate you pay depends on many variables. In fact, NO lender can truly quote a rate or closing costs without additional information. On top of that, interest rates change daily, adding even more confusion and stress when shopping for a mortgage.

Our team will walk you through all the variables that impact the specific interest rate for different situations. Our overall intent is to get you in the best loan possible so you can enjoy being a successful homeowner.

Such variables that impact rates include:

Type of transaction: purchase, refinance, or reverse mortgage
Owner occupied, second home, investor
Mortgage credit scores
Debt-to-income ratios
Amount of down payment or equity
Type of loan
Existing or new construction
Employment history
Co-signor or co-borrower involvement
Gift funds used

Interest rates that you see advertised should have a footnote explaining exactly what assumptions are being used to determine the rate. In many cases, the advertised interest rate is just a marketing technique to generate a lead call.

Helping Hands is determined to explain what factors are used to calculate the interest rate and to share different loan options with you. We utilize a proprietary technology that allows us to search loan products and lending guidelines from nationwide and local lenders giving us hundreds of different options. By asking you a series of questions, we can identify which loan programs you may qualify for and then choose the best options to determine the exact available interest rates and closing costs. This takes the guesswork out of the process and prevents surprises later.

Our Helpful Refinance Mortgage Document Checklist

To better serve you and to give you more accurate information, below are the typical documents that we would like to review:

Income Verification

Assets – Where Will Your Cash Come From?

The great news is for most refinancings we do not need to verify your assets! The reason being that the new loan amount will cover all cash requirements.

However, in some cases the borrower is required to bring funds to the closing or show they have sufficient reserves. In those cases, we generally must verify and source your assets if needed for your refinancing. Examples of sources of borrower funds include:

Checking/savings
Investment accounts (stocks, bonds, mutual funds)
Loans or withdrawals from retirement accounts such as a 401(k)
Gifts (must be documented)
Sou-sou money (must meet guidelines)

We will provide you with a “Where Will Your Cash Come From?” worksheet.

Below is the list of usual requested documents. Please provide all pages, even if blank.

Past two month’s bank statements
Past two month’s investment accounts
Recent quarterly retirement statement
Will you be receiving a gift or utilizing sou-sou funds? Additional information will be requested
Additional information will be requested if you own other property

Mortgage Credit Report

We will review your mortgage credit report with you. To do so, we will need your:

Current home address
Legal name
Date of birth
Place of birth
Social security number

A mortgage credit report is a more detailed report than the available free consumer credit reports. The credit scores may be different for various reasons. Also, the mortgage credit report also checks for fraud and public records. You will receive a copy of your mortgage credit report. We will help you understand your credit report and make sure there are no errors on your report. Studies show that over 20% of credit reports have wrong information.

Identity

Checklist for FHA Streamline (Faster Refinance for FHA loans)

In a FHA streamline you can refinance your loan without having to provide the same level of documentation or go through the same amount of underwriting scrutiny that went into getting your original mortgage.

If you have an FHA mortgage, then you are eligible for an FHA Streamline

What we need to get started:

Your Credit Report, which we can order for you
Existing FHA Note
Closing Disclosure for your FHA mortgage
Mortgage Statement
Current utility bill to prove residence (cell phone bill will not qualify)
A declaration page for your homeowner's insurance

To be connected to a Giver's Mindset loan officer, submit the form below. Our loan officers will assess your needs and will create a custom roadmap for success.

Access Your Online Mortgage Application

If you are ready to get started on your secure online application, Click the big orange button.

Today’s mortgage guidelines require all lenders to verify the identity, income, and sources of cash used in home financing. We will explain what is needed to make sure you understand the process. Helping Hands is ready to help you navigate through every step of the mortgage process.


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