Posted on: 13th Jul, 2009 12:28 pm
i have a 30 year fixed rate mortgage @ 6.25% for $445,000 that begin in october 2006. my existing loan is with wells fargo. the value of my home at this time was 560,000.
in april, i started down the refinance path with wells fargo and locked a rate of 4.875 for a 30 year fixed rate loan. this rate requires that i pay down my principal balance to the conforming amount of$ 417k. in addition, the lender fees for the refinance amounted to about $1,500.
this seemed like a good deal at the time. however, wells fargo just informed me that my property has appraised for only $470k. this means that if my refinanced loan balance is 417k, my ltv is about 85% and i would be responsible for pmi.
wells is still claiming that the refinance makes sense as they will drop the pmi if a future appraisal brings the ltv to 80%.
if i assume the pmi is $200/month, then i am only saving about $160/month from what i currently pay, plus i have to put out about 15k at closing to pay the principal balance down to 417k.
is my best move to move forward with the refinance and hope property values increase in the next year or 2, or should i keep the existing loan as-is?
also, i was very unhappy with the appraisal that was performed on my home. the comps in the appraisal, sold in the last 6 months, were all in the 520-530k range but the appraiser arbitrarily slashed the value due to the abundance of available new construction. i tried disputing this, but the appraiser wouldn't budge.
any thoughts would be appreciated.
in april, i started down the refinance path with wells fargo and locked a rate of 4.875 for a 30 year fixed rate loan. this rate requires that i pay down my principal balance to the conforming amount of$ 417k. in addition, the lender fees for the refinance amounted to about $1,500.
this seemed like a good deal at the time. however, wells fargo just informed me that my property has appraised for only $470k. this means that if my refinanced loan balance is 417k, my ltv is about 85% and i would be responsible for pmi.
wells is still claiming that the refinance makes sense as they will drop the pmi if a future appraisal brings the ltv to 80%.
if i assume the pmi is $200/month, then i am only saving about $160/month from what i currently pay, plus i have to put out about 15k at closing to pay the principal balance down to 417k.
is my best move to move forward with the refinance and hope property values increase in the next year or 2, or should i keep the existing loan as-is?
also, i was very unhappy with the appraisal that was performed on my home. the comps in the appraisal, sold in the last 6 months, were all in the 520-530k range but the appraiser arbitrarily slashed the value due to the abundance of available new construction. i tried disputing this, but the appraiser wouldn't budge.
any thoughts would be appreciated.
jrc
Does that appraised value sound right to you? It is possible that Wells Fargo is telling you this because they cannot do the deal for you at 4.875% with only $1500 in fees. Ask them to supply a copy of the appraisal to you. Chances are, they just went to some web site and looked up your assessed value which is NOT the market value.
Meanwhile, do to this Fannie Mae web site and type in your address. http://loanlookup.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/
Look at the bottom and see if Fannie recognizes a loan at your address. If they do, then you can refinance under the new DU Refi Plus program without PMI even if your LTV is up to 105%-125%
Does that appraised value sound right to you? It is possible that Wells Fargo is telling you this because they cannot do the deal for you at 4.875% with only $1500 in fees. Ask them to supply a copy of the appraisal to you. Chances are, they just went to some web site and looked up your assessed value which is NOT the market value.
Meanwhile, do to this Fannie Mae web site and type in your address. http://loanlookup.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/
Look at the bottom and see if Fannie recognizes a loan at your address. If they do, then you can refinance under the new DU Refi Plus program without PMI even if your LTV is up to 105%-125%
Eric1,
I tried the Fannie Mae site but no luck - my address is not in their databse.
Wells Fargo did provide me with a copy of the appraisal report. The comps in the report proved that real estate in my area (in my own development no less) has sold within the last 6 months in the $520K range. All of these comps are comparable to my property. However, the appraiser arbitrarily slashed another 10% due to the abundance of new construction that is available.
I tried to dispute this claim and state the obvious, but the appraiser won't budge on the value.
So the lender has informed me that in order to go ahead with the loan I have to pay PMI.
I really hate to lose out on the 4.875 rate but it doesn't seem like I'm going to gain much when the PMI is factored in. Wells "promises" that they will reevaluate the appraisal when the market picks up (whenever that is....).
Do I have any other options here? Is there some other path to fight this ultra conservative appraisal? Should I go ahead with the refinance anyway?
I tried the Fannie Mae site but no luck - my address is not in their databse.
Wells Fargo did provide me with a copy of the appraisal report. The comps in the report proved that real estate in my area (in my own development no less) has sold within the last 6 months in the $520K range. All of these comps are comparable to my property. However, the appraiser arbitrarily slashed another 10% due to the abundance of new construction that is available.
I tried to dispute this claim and state the obvious, but the appraiser won't budge on the value.
So the lender has informed me that in order to go ahead with the loan I have to pay PMI.
I really hate to lose out on the 4.875 rate but it doesn't seem like I'm going to gain much when the PMI is factored in. Wells "promises" that they will reevaluate the appraisal when the market picks up (whenever that is....).
Do I have any other options here? Is there some other path to fight this ultra conservative appraisal? Should I go ahead with the refinance anyway?
