If you have equity in your home you might be able to use the equity to lower your monthly payments.  You might want to pay off credit card debt, student loans, car payments, or any other debt you can think of. Of course you will have a few costs to tap into your equity.  But if you have enough equity in your home, you can use the cash from the loan to pay for the expenses.

Some of the closing costs includes legal fees, appraisal fees, possibly a lender fee, settlement costs and funds needed to pay off your existing mortgage. Some or all of the costs can be financed in your new mortgage.

But you have to be understand what the maximum refinance amount is. This can be different from a purchase where you can get up to 100% financing.  Mortgage lender use a term called loan-to-value ratio to describe how much money they will you. The loan-to-value is determined by the value of the home from a certified home appraiser. 

There are two types of refinance mortgages - conventional and hi-ratio.  A conventional refinance has a maximum loan-to-value of 75%/80%.  A hi-ratio refinance can be as much as 100% but it usually comes with an insurance fee from the lender. 

We can help you make sense of the rules to qualify for refinance loan programs for as much as 95 percent of your home's value in most cases, but the lower your loan-to-value ratio (that is, the less you borrow), the better terms you'll generally qualify for.

You might find that it is a good idea to use your own cash needed at closing from your checking, or savings accounts or from other assets. This will keep your monthly payment a little lower.  But we can do the math for you to determine the difference so you can make the best decision. 

We want to give you the choices that will make the mortgage work for you!