Is It A Good Idea To Pay Points On A Mortgage?

When you go to closing on a mortgage, you have a number of options available to you. One of these is to pay points so that the interest rate can be reduced. Here is what you need to know to help you determine if you should pay points on your mortgage.

A mortgage point is equal to 1% of the total cost of the mortgage. So, if you are getting a mortgage for $150,000, then it will cost you $1,500 per point. For each 1% of interest, there are 8 points. In other words, it will take 8 points to bring down the interest rate one full percent. Each point paid will reduce the interest percentage by 0.125%. Usually, you can see some savings if you bring it down even one point.

Paying points at closing can reduce your interest and bring you savings, but not everyone can benefit from it. Generally, you would need to stay in your house for a number of years - it really will not help if you are not going to stay long.

The reason for this can be seen in the following example. This will show you how to determine how long it will take to break even. If you buy a house for $100,000 at 7.5% interest, then you would be paying around $700 per month. If you spend $1,000 to buy one point, this will reduce your interest to $7.375%, and now you will have a payment of about $691. The difference in your payments is now around $9. By taking the $1,000 that you paid, and dividing it by your amount saved ($1,000 / $9), that will give you an answer of 111, which is the number of months you need to live there in order to break even.

In the above example, you would need to live in that house for 9 years and three months to break even. This is why it is necessary that you want to live in your home for a while before you begin to realize any savings.

If you plan on staying for a shorter time period, then you may want to reduce your costs other ways. This can be done through paying a larger down payment, making sure your total indebtedness is low and your credit score high, or by simply paying more each month. In order to know which approach would be more beneficial, be sure to go online and find some good mortgage calculators to help you find out.

Also, when you go to get your mortgage, get a number of quotes from different lenders and find out which one offers the best deal. All you need to do is to compare them carefully in terms of interest rates, fees, total cost, and what options you have. Before long, you will find that choosing the best of the offers will enable you to save possibly thousands of dollars over the lifetime of the mortgage.

Square Feet: Mortgage rates mixed this week

Mortgage rates edged lower this week, at least for 30-year fixed-rate loans, according to . And even as home sales continue to slump, homeowners are taking advantage of the relatively low rates and refinancing their mortgages.

Nationwide, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was at 6.15 percent this week, down from 6.16 percent the week before and 6.58 percent a year earlier. Fifteen-year fixed-rate mortgages -- a popular choice for refinanced loans -- were at 5.87 percent, the same as last week and down from 6.17 percent a year earlier.

"Despite a slowdown in house price growth, borrowers continue to refinance their loans, extracting approximately $70.5 billion in cash from their home equity in the first quarter of 2007, down slightly from $77.0 billion in the fourth quarter of 2006,' Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft said in a statement.

"Low employment growth in April -- the slowest pace since November 2004 -- and downward revisions to both February and March job growth tempered market concerns of future increases in the rate of inflation,' Nothaft said. "As a result, mortgage rates were little changed this week.'

Rates on other popular loans:

One-year adjustable-rate mortgages: 5.48 percent, up from 5.42 percent last week, but down from 5.62 percent a year ago.

Five-year hybrid ARMs: 5.89 percent, up from 5.87 percent last week, but down from 6.22 percent a year ago.

Mortgage Refinancing Tips: When It Makes Sense To Refinance

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It can be difficult to determine whether or not you should refinance your home. This is when it helps to have mortgage refinancing tips. There are plenty of “rules of thumb� to refinancing. When you know what those are, you can figure out whether or not refinancing makes sense in your situation.

Here are some mortgage refinancing tips:

· Lower interest rate. If interest rates are dropping, it may be a good time to refinance. You will end up paying less in the long run, and in many cases your monthly payments may be lower as a result of refinancing your mortgage at a lower rate. However, most experts caution that you make sure that the current interest rate is at least 1% lower than the current rate in order to get the best benefit from the lower rate.

· Sticking around for a while. If you are leaving the area soon, planning to sell your home, mortgage refinancing may not be the best idea. After all, the costs of refinancing, with closing costs, and in some cases prepayment fees, can amount to as much as 2% of your loan. This means that you need to be in your home for a few years to make refinancing worth it.

· Shorter loan term. Another way to save money in the long run is by using a mortgage refinance to shorten the term of your loan. You will pay less in interest, since you will not be borrowing the money over as long a period of time. You may have higher monthly payments, that this mortgage refinancing tip can save you thousands of dollars over all.

· Getting a little extra cash. If you need a little more cash each month, mortgage refinancing may be a tip that can help you. If you have lower payments, that means a little more money in your pocket at the end of each month.

· Consolidating debt. If you have a great deal of debt that can’t be consolidated in another loan program, it can be a good tip to use mortgage refinancing as a way to pay off your other loans. You have to have equity, however, in order for this type of mortgage refinance to work as a debt consolidation.

Understanding when it makes sense to refinance your home is an essential part of good asset management. Think about what you would like to accomplish, and follow common sense mortgage refinancing tips when deciding whether or not to refinance.

By: L. Sampson

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Refinancing Your Mortgage With Bad Credit

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Refinancing has become extremely popular over the last few years mainly due to the historical low interest rates available. While today’s interests rate are a drop higher than its historical lows, it makes a lot of sense to refinance your existing home mortgage in order to save money on interest, or to take out a home equity loan on the rising value of your home. Here are some tips.

If you have bad credit, believe it or not refinancing your current mortgage can help. Most people fall into the rut of bad credit because their interest payments are too high and because they have too many credit cards with revolving debt.

By refinancing your current mortgage, you can not only get a lower monthly payment, but if you have built up any value in your property you can in many situations also take out a home equity loan which is a loan based upon your home’s worth. With a home equity loan, your home is used as collateral so lenders are much more secure and open to giving a person a loan because it is far less risky than an unsecured loan.

If you have bad credit you can refinance your home mortgage and pay off your credit card debts, improving your credit substantially. You will also only have one loan to pay each month at a lower interest rate than most credit cards so it should be easier to pay off.

If you have very bad credit, you probably still will be able to be approved for refinancing your mortgage, however the interest rate may be higher than quoted for good credit holders and less amount of your home’s value may be able to be refinanced. For instance, if your home is worth 250K, you might be only able to refinance up to 200K.

If you are looking to refinance your existing home mortgage, don’t let bad credit stand in your way. In fact, refinancing your mortgage can improve your credit situation.

By: Connie Barker

Connie Barker is the owner of several informational financial websites including those dealing with

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Low Interest Rates and Free Online Mortgage Application offered by Online Mortgage Inc, the Featured Company on TransWorldNews.com.pt

Monroe, Ga. 4/30/2007 1:29 AM GMT (FINDITT)

Low rate mortgage refinancing, low interest rates and a free online mortgage application are among the services offered by OnlineMortageInc.com, the Featured Company on TransWorldNews.com.pt. 

Online Mortgage, Inc. is an online consumer direct lender dedicated to providing borrowers with a Keep It Simple way to obtain mortgage, refinance and home equity loans. Since its launch in 2001, OnlineMortgageInc has drawn upon its pro consumer values to improve the lending experience in revolutionary ways. By eliminating the traditional incentive structure to charge consumers higher rates, giving consumers free access to credit scores and getting rid of lender fees, OnlineMortgage, Inc.  is providing a uniquely open, fair and honest loan process.

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