Refinancing provides many benefits if it makes financial sense. Homeowners refinance their mortgage for many reasons, such as to align their current financial situation with their future needs.

Here are some great reasons why you might refinance your mortgage:

• Lower your mortgage rate and payment.  This is one of the most common reasons that homeowners refinance their mortgage. If your current interest rate is higher than what is currently available in the market, it is probably a good idea to  see how much you could save.

• Reduce your term.   Take advantage of low rates to reduce the term of your mortgage loan.  Shorter terms mean lower rates.

• Convert your adjustable rate into a fixed rate.  Adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) loans are a great way to ease into your payments, especially if you are a first time buyer or if you need lower payments initially. Eventually, if you decide you will stay in the home longer, you may want to consider refinancing that into a long term fixed rate loan. Doing so will give you peace  of mind, knowing that your rate and payment will not change for a set period of time.

• Convert your interest-only loan into a fully-amortized loan.  Like ARMs, interest-only mortgage loans are a great way to minimize payments at the beginning; however, because you are not paying any principal, your loan balance does not  decrease. If you plan to keep your home long term, you probably want to start paying off your loan. Often, you can refinance your interest-only mortgage loan to a 30 year fixed mortgage loan while keeping your payments about the same. 

• Remove mortgage insurance.  If you purchased a home with less than 20% down, chances are you're paying mortgage insurance (PMI). Refinancing will help you eliminate the extra expense if you've paid down your balance and/or  have seen an increase in your home's value to a point where you have at least 20% equity, or a loan-to-value (LTV) of 80% or less.

• Convert your 30 year loan to a shorter-term loan.  Sometimes homeowners want to accelerate paying off their mortgage by   reducing the loan term from a 30 year to a 15 or 20 year loan. A 15 year loan has lower rates than your 30 year loan, therefore reducing the lenders risk.

• Take cash out to consolidate your debt.  Leverage your equity to pay off higher interest debts, non tax-deductible credit cards, student loans, or medical bills. By consolidating your debts, you can enjoy the benefit of having only one payment each month, and in most cases reducing your overall monthly outflow.

• Take cash out for home improvements.  What better way to use your hard earned equity than to invest it back with repairs or home improvements? Whether you would like to fix your leaky roof or update your kitchen, you can tap into your equity and have a tax deductible* way to tackle your projects. *consult with your tax advisor

• Take cash out to purchase investment property.  With home prices and interest rates at the lowest they've been in years, if  you've been thinking about buying a vacation home or an investment property, now may be a great time to take action.  Tap into the equity and use the cash for your down payment, home improvements, or for any reason at all.

Refinance Loan Process