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“A good loan officer will ask a series of questions to help borrower identify his best option,” Bour says. The officer should:
• Assess your current monthly cash flow and potential future risks.
• Calculate your monthly savings if you were to refinance.
• Determine how long it will take you to break even.
• Fully explain different types of loans and interest structures.
• Disclose all closing costs and “hidden” fees (origination fees, escrow, title, underwriting, interest, taxes, insurance, prepayment penalties, etc.).
• Treat you with respect and as an individual—not come up with a one-size-fits-all, cookie-cutter approach to your financial future.
5. Do I Need a Second Opinion? Because lenders have an interest (pun intended) in having you sign on dotted line, it’s often worthwhile to seek advice from a certified financial planner or other expert who has no investment or agenda when it comes to your refinancing decisions—especially if you’re a first-timer who lacks fluency in real estate issues.
Accept your limitations, and have enough smarts to ask for help. A lot of money is riding on this decision, so never let pride get in way of making right choice.
6. Will This Hurt My Credit Rating? “While refinancing, in and of itself, will do very little damage to credit scores, what will cause harm is excessive shopping amongst too many lenders,” Bour says. “Each time a credit report is pulled by a ‘potential grantor of credit,’ it shows up as an ‘inquiry’—and each inquiry drops credit score by a little bit.
“In United States, laws have changed over past few years, and inquiries do not have same negative impact as they used to. Most credit bureaus will now look at a ‘cluster’ of inquiries over a short period of time as being one inquiry.”
-------- Mortgage Relief specializes in assisting Australian families with mortgages by making their monthly repayments more manageable and decreasing their overall debt and total interest paid over life of their mortgage. Mortgage Relief is a mortgage refinance provider that it part of Australia’s largest Debt Relief™ organization. Visit Mortgage Relief on web at http://www.mortgagerelief.com.au or contact them directly on 1300 789 014.
Rob Sallay