Posted on: 07th Dec, 2010 03:35 pm
hi,
my name is meena and i am new to the forum. i feel that i have unique mortgage situation, because i can't seem to figure out what to do.
my dad bought a condo with the mortgage in his name at 8%. he put his, his wife and children's names on the deed. he took out a 30 yr mortgage in 1992. he passed away in 1997. since then, we have been continuing to pay that mortgage because it seemed like the easy thing to do at the time and still i don't know what to do so we're continuing to pay at 8% ($30k left to pay but at 8%). mortgage rates are so low right now, but our property taxes have been creeping up. i contacted some lenders to see if i can try to refinance, their numbers are not that far off from what i am currently paying. i have very good credit so i am assuming with all the refinancing cost, interest, the number of years (they show me 15years because i have only 10 years left on the existing mortgage), i can't figure out if it makes sense to refinance. i feel like all these years we have been continuing to pay at 8% like goofs and forked over so much money to the bank. with the property values being so low, it's hurting me more to think that i am continuing to make monthly payments at 8%, property taxes have gone up, property values have gone down so i feel like i keep digging the hole even deeper in equity by continuing to pay this mortgage. i don't get to write off taxes and mortgage on my federal taxes every year, i take standard deductions..some years it comes in handy, but not all the time. i can lower my state taxes by taking home owner's tax exemption by applying my property taxes, but that's it. i tried to figure this out from every angle possible, but can't seem to understand, what makes sense financially. i feel that everything i am earning is eaten away by unnecessary stuff whether it be high income/property taxes, mortgage. so i am turning to the this forum for help. please help, i need ideas/suggestions to figure this out.
thanks
meena
my name is meena and i am new to the forum. i feel that i have unique mortgage situation, because i can't seem to figure out what to do.
my dad bought a condo with the mortgage in his name at 8%. he put his, his wife and children's names on the deed. he took out a 30 yr mortgage in 1992. he passed away in 1997. since then, we have been continuing to pay that mortgage because it seemed like the easy thing to do at the time and still i don't know what to do so we're continuing to pay at 8% ($30k left to pay but at 8%). mortgage rates are so low right now, but our property taxes have been creeping up. i contacted some lenders to see if i can try to refinance, their numbers are not that far off from what i am currently paying. i have very good credit so i am assuming with all the refinancing cost, interest, the number of years (they show me 15years because i have only 10 years left on the existing mortgage), i can't figure out if it makes sense to refinance. i feel like all these years we have been continuing to pay at 8% like goofs and forked over so much money to the bank. with the property values being so low, it's hurting me more to think that i am continuing to make monthly payments at 8%, property taxes have gone up, property values have gone down so i feel like i keep digging the hole even deeper in equity by continuing to pay this mortgage. i don't get to write off taxes and mortgage on my federal taxes every year, i take standard deductions..some years it comes in handy, but not all the time. i can lower my state taxes by taking home owner's tax exemption by applying my property taxes, but that's it. i tried to figure this out from every angle possible, but can't seem to understand, what makes sense financially. i feel that everything i am earning is eaten away by unnecessary stuff whether it be high income/property taxes, mortgage. so i am turning to the this forum for help. please help, i need ideas/suggestions to figure this out.
thanks
meena
Hi zqz,
If you have equity in the property and if the house is in your name, then you can definitely apply for a refinance. You can go for a 15 year fixed rate mortgage. This will help you in becoming debt free in the next 15 years and you will also be able to take advantage of the lower rates. However, if you do not plan to stay in the property for a longer period of time, then it isn't a good option to refinance as you won't be able to offset the closing costs that you pay at time of refinance.
Thanks
If you have equity in the property and if the house is in your name, then you can definitely apply for a refinance. You can go for a 15 year fixed rate mortgage. This will help you in becoming debt free in the next 15 years and you will also be able to take advantage of the lower rates. However, if you do not plan to stay in the property for a longer period of time, then it isn't a good option to refinance as you won't be able to offset the closing costs that you pay at time of refinance.
Thanks
Question is if you are at 8% with good credit there shouldn't be any reason why you cannot refinance. How many is the house worth? You can go to cyberhomes.com or zillow.com to check value. If your house has lost value you can ask for the city/town to reappraise the home to help bring the property taxes down. It doesn't make sense if you have good credit why you cannot obtain a decent rate, it could be that your mortgage balance is so low that it may not make sense for the lender to want to refinance you. You could look at taking out a fixed equity line to pay off the current mortgage balance that should give you a lower interest rate.
Who is on the loan? If your dad is the mortgage holder and no one else is on the loan that could be an issue as well. All you would need to do is show the death certificate in order to refinance. You could try to do a loan modification however, it would probably bring your term out to 30 year mortgage. I think a fixed equity line might be what you need.
Who is on the loan? If your dad is the mortgage holder and no one else is on the loan that could be an issue as well. All you would need to do is show the death certificate in order to refinance. You could try to do a loan modification however, it would probably bring your term out to 30 year mortgage. I think a fixed equity line might be what you need.