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Community Connections<br />

Business Spotlight<br />

Page 8 www.TheTownCommon.com November <strong>15</strong> -22, 20<strong>17</strong><br />

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For<br />

Sale<br />

With interest rates at historical<br />

lows the thought from most<br />

homeowners is well, there is no<br />

way we can refinance again with<br />

what our rate is now. Most<br />

homeowners and potential<br />

buyers are acutely aware of where<br />

current rates are at. If they aren’t,<br />

many times a mortgage agent will<br />

notify them that it is a good time<br />

to refinance. Last week I spoke<br />

with a couple I sold a home to<br />

years ago and they mentioned that<br />

they got a call from a mortgage<br />

agent saying they were offering<br />

3.75% for a 30 year mortgage.<br />

While this scenario is attractive<br />

for this couple, for others there<br />

are things to be aware of before<br />

making what would seem to be<br />

the easy choice of refinancing.<br />

Sit Down and Review<br />

•<br />

•<br />

Find a mortgage agent<br />

whom you trust or if you<br />

don’t know one talk with<br />

friends to see what kind of<br />

experience they had with<br />

theirs…OR…ask you<br />

local REALTOR® for help<br />

in finding someone.<br />

Do you know whether or<br />

not a fixed rate or ARM is<br />

best? Do you know all the<br />

terms? Are you going to be<br />

penalized for refinancing<br />

again? Ask your mortgage<br />

agent.<br />

To Refinance or Not to<br />

Refinance<br />

There are all sorts of theories<br />

out there about when it makes<br />

sense to refinance. “Only if the<br />

rate drops by a percentage point,<br />

only if it drops by half a point,<br />

only if you plan on staying in<br />

the house/condo, etc”. What<br />

really matters is how long it<br />

will take you to “break even”<br />

and whether or not you plan<br />

to live in the home that long.<br />

Let me explain: If you had a<br />

$400,000 30-year mortgage<br />

with an 4.5 percent interest rate,<br />

your monthly principal and<br />

interest payment (not including<br />

taxes or homeowners insurance)<br />

would be $2,026.74. If you<br />

refinanced at 3.75 percent, your<br />

new monthly principal would be<br />

$1,852.46, a savings of $<strong>17</strong>4.28<br />

per month. Let’s say that your<br />

new closing costs amounted to<br />

$3,000, it would take you a little<br />

more than <strong>17</strong> months to break<br />

even. ($<strong>17</strong>4.28 x <strong>17</strong> months =<br />

$2,962.76). If you planned to<br />

stay in your home for at least <strong>17</strong><br />

more months, then refinancing<br />

would be a wise move. If you<br />

planned to sell before then,<br />

Real Estate • For Sale<br />

Time to Refinance?<br />

Sports • Sports • Sports<br />

By John McCarthy, Rowley Realty<br />

you might not want to bother<br />

refinancing. Certainly if there<br />

were no closing costs associated<br />

Pets, Animals, Plus<br />

Health with this scenario, & and Fitness<br />

many<br />

lenders offer them, then it would<br />

make perfect sense to refinance.<br />

The Wildcard<br />

In the above scenario the one<br />

thing that people do not always<br />

take into account is interest v.<br />

principal. When you refinance<br />

to this “new” 30 year mortgage<br />

at 3.75% you start the clock all<br />

over again. What I mean by that<br />

is if you are 5 years into your<br />

$400,000 you would have paid it<br />

down to $363,972.30 in principal<br />

at 4.5% rate. You started paying<br />

$526.74 toward the principal or<br />

balance at the beginning of this<br />

loan, with the rest going into<br />

interest and after 5 years are up<br />

to over $650 a month toward<br />

the principal balance as you<br />

increase your principal slightly<br />

each month while your interest<br />

declines. So…if you refinance<br />

the new amount $363,972.30 at<br />

3.75% your payment would be<br />

even lower, however you start all<br />

over again with a lower number<br />

going into your principal,<br />

approximately $548 per month,<br />

over $100 less per month than<br />

you were paying. Bottom line is<br />

the check you are writing to the<br />

bank or mortgage company is<br />

less each month but it will take<br />

you longer to get that mortgage<br />

paid off.<br />

Not All Created Equal: Don’t<br />

make the mistake of choosing<br />

a mortgage based only on<br />

its stated annual percentage<br />

rate (APR), because there are<br />

a variety of other important<br />

variables to consider, such as:<br />

Fixed Rate vs. ARM’s:<br />

There are two basic types<br />

of mortgages: Fixed (i.e.,<br />

unchanging) interest rates and<br />

variable rates or adjustable rate<br />

mortgages (ARM’s) which can<br />

change after a predetermined<br />

amount of time, such as 1,<br />

3, 5 or 7 years (these are the<br />

most common). While an<br />

ARM usually offers a lower<br />

introductory rate than a fixedrate<br />

mortgage (assuming the<br />

term of the mortgage is the<br />

same), the ARM’s rate could<br />

jump in the future if interest<br />

rates rise. If you plan to stay in<br />

your home for a long time, it<br />

may make sense to opt for the<br />

predictability and security of<br />

a fixed rate, whereas an ARM<br />

might make sense if you plan<br />

to sell before its rate is allowed<br />

to go up.<br />

Length of mortgage: The<br />

shorter term mortgages (ARM’s<br />

and anything less than 30 years)<br />

offer lower interest rates than<br />

long-term mortgages (30 years<br />

or more), they usually involve<br />

higher monthly payments.<br />

Points: Points, also known as<br />

“origination fees” or “discount<br />

fees” are fees that you pay to<br />

a lender or broker when you<br />

refinance. These points are<br />

assessed as a cost for a borrower<br />

to get a lower rate. For example,<br />

if you want a mortgage rate of<br />

3.5% on a <strong>15</strong> year mortgage<br />

you have to pay one point (one<br />

point equals one percent of the<br />

amount of the loan). Without<br />

any points the rate would be<br />

3.75%. While a “no points,<br />

no closing cost” mortgage does<br />

not have the points or closing<br />

costs, it could prove to be more<br />

expensive if the lender charges<br />

a higher interest rate instead.<br />

Therefore closing costs and<br />

points need to be factored in<br />

when determining whether<br />

the savings from a lower rate<br />

will justify refinancing.<br />

Fees: You may have an<br />

appraisal fee, credit report<br />

charge, origination charges,<br />

flood certification fee or<br />

recording charges. There are<br />

other fees that I am missing<br />

but all these fees have one<br />

thing in common; they should<br />

be disclosed up front by the<br />

lender and be accurate.<br />

Before you refinance consider<br />

everything; closing costs, points,<br />

where you are in your current<br />

mortgage and what you will be<br />

paying on your principal with<br />

your new mortgage. All this is info<br />

you need to make an informed<br />

decision. So many buyers in the<br />

recent past stretched themselves<br />

by refinancing into ARM’s or<br />

pulling money out of their<br />

home to fund that new vacation<br />

home, car or boat. Please keep<br />

in mind that before you make a<br />

commitment to refinance your<br />

mortgage, it’s important to do<br />

your homework and determine<br />

whether such a move is the right<br />

one for you.<br />

If you have any questions about<br />

this article, real estate in general<br />

or are looking to buy or sell a<br />

home please contact me, John<br />

McCarthy at Rowley Realty, <strong>16</strong>5<br />

Main St., Rowley, MA 01969,<br />

Phone: 978 948-2758, Cell 978<br />

835-2573 or via email at john@<br />

rowleyrealestate.com<br />

Cable Professional Building<br />

130 County Road, Ipswich, MA 01938

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