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Articles
and F.A.Q.'s If you are thinking about refinancing your mortgage, you might want to consider other types of mortgages. For example, you might want to look into a 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage. In this plan, your mortgage payments are somewhat higher than a longer-term loan, but you pay substantially less interest over the life of the loan and build equity more quickly. (Of course, this also means you have less interest to deduct on your income tax return.) You also might want to consider refinancing if you have an adjustable rate mortgage with high or no limits on interest rate increases. You might want to switch to a fixed-rate mortgage or to an adjustable rate mortgage that limits changes in the rate at each adjustment date as well as over the life of the loan. If you decide
to apply for refinancing with a particular lender, and if you do
not want to let the interest rate "float" until closing, get a written
statement guaranteeing the interest rate and the number of discount
points that you will pay at closing. This binding commitment or
"lock-in" ensures that the lender will not raise these costs even
if rates increase before you settle on the new loan. You also may
consider requesting an agreement where the interest rate can decrease
but not increase before closing. If Most lenders
place a limit on the length of time (say, 60 days) they will guarantee
the interest rate. You must sign the loan during that time or lose
the benefit of that particular rate. Because many people are refinancing
their mortgages, there may be a
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