Comments on: Mortgage Renewals

By: needingclarity

needingclarity — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:03:19 +0000

Interest rates were just cut…

By: definitelynotmartha

definitelynotmartha — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:14:43 +0000

Gail..I LOVE your blog. I love your show. This was a great post…and I’m a big weinie…I’ve got a 10 year term on my mortgage. BIG fan of financial certainty here…

By: Twitchgrass

Twitchgrass — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 21:21:40 +0000

Well now you come out with this information…I just renewed my mortgage on my house last week and I locked in to a 1 yr mortgage term for 4.65 % which was 1% lower than my last 1 yr mortgage. I was offered 5.25 % for 5 years, but I’m one of those people who is very leery of locking in long term. I have been doing a lot of reading on personal finances lately (been to the library instead of purchasing) and one writer’s comment really struck a chord with me. He said that it’s best to borrow short term and invest long term. He then went on to explain what he meant by that and it really made a lot of sense. I’ve owned three homes in the last 14 years and since my first 5 year mortgage term ended (9.4%) I’ve only ever gone 1 year at a time. I am really nervous about what is happening in the US and what might happen here, but I’m prepared to ride it out for now.
The only bit of information that concerned me was when the mortgage specialist advised me that my biweekly payments weren’t accelerated, I remember specifically asking for that when I purchased the house two years ago and was shocked to learn that I wasn’t doing that. With my new lower rate I end up paying $539 bi-weekly up from $536 from before, but I’m happy in the fact that more will be paid against the principal than before.

By: Empty Pockets

Empty Pockets — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:17:23 +0000

If you are having a tough time trying to pick a term, another option may be “split” your mortgage into to different terms. Some instituions allow you to lock in a portion of your mortgage for 3 years (at the 3 year rate) and another portion for 5 years (at the 5 year rate). There are lots of terms and options available you just have to ask and that way to can have the best of both worlds. Just another feature to keep in mind when renewal time comes around.

By: sandra

sandra — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:34:17 +0000

Thanks for writing this post today Gail! This gives me a much better understanding of what I needed to know. My mortgage comes up for renewal next May, I’ve been debating back and forth between breaking my current mortgage @4.4 % ( $62,900 was my starting point and will have my mortgage down to about 53,000 in May) and refinancing in order to have some work done to my home or waiting and having a reduced debt load next May. To me it makes more sense to take my chances and wait, but I’m looking @ having my mortgage lock in for 15yrs so I don’t have to worry about sky rocketing rates! My biggest debt besides my mortgage is my student loan, which stands @ 10,332.43. I pay 250/biweekly on my SL and can actually see it drop by at least 200 biweekly. Thanks for all your common sense advice.