Whew! That's out of the way...

Bassic83 · #1 12-26-2007, 07:09 PM

Just got back from closing on my house. My friend asked me why I was just now closing on it- after living here for a little over two years! Didn't I already buy it, he asked? So I told him I liked it so much, I bought it again! (Refi!)

So my payments went down, my terms went from a 40-yr 1st, 30-yr 2nd, to a single 15-yr note. My original loan was an 80-20 split ARM with introductory 2-yr fixed rate of 6.425...I had pretty bad credit at the time...they reset a couple months ago to 10.375, and had a lifetime cap of 14.99. I was lazy, didn't start the process until after it had reset. Ooops. My bad...

So now I have a 15-yr note (just one) at 5.87%! Making just $200 extra payments each month brings me into the 10-year payoff range. Woot! If I can also throw $2000 a year at my mortgage when bonus time comes around, it takes it down into the 7-8 year range!!!

So I'm pretty stoked right now...things are coming together nicely!

iamlowsound · #2 12-26-2007, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bassic83

Just got back from closing on my house. My friend asked me why I was just now closing on it- after living here for a little over two years! Didn't I already buy it, he asked? So I told him I liked it so much, I bought it again! (Refi!)

So my payments went down, my terms went from a 40-yr 1st, 30-yr 2nd, to a single 15-yr note. My original loan was an 80-20 split ARM with introductory 2-yr fixed rate of 6.425...I had pretty bad credit at the time...they reset a couple months ago to 10.375, and had a lifetime cap of 14.99. I was lazy, didn't start the process until after it had reset. Ooops. My bad...

So now I have a 15-yr note (just one) at 5.87%! Making just $200 extra payments each month brings me into the 10-year payoff range. Woot! If I can also throw $2000 a year at my mortgage when bonus time comes around, it takes it down into the 7-8 year range!!!

So I'm pretty stoked right now...things are coming together nicely!

NICE. I also recommend paying weekly and whenever you get a raise put the extra money toward your mortgage payment. That will knock a few years off as well.

lowsound

A9X · #3 12-27-2007, 01:17 AM

With a bit of OT or a couple of other things on the side, mine will be gone in 3 years.

Atoz · #4 12-27-2007, 01:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bassic83

Just got back from closing on my house. My friend asked me why I was just now closing on it- after living here for a little over two years! Didn't I already buy it, he asked? So I told him I liked it so much, I bought it again! (Refi!)

So my payments went down, my terms went from a 40-yr 1st, 30-yr 2nd, to a single 15-yr note. My original loan was an 80-20 split ARM with introductory 2-yr fixed rate of 6.425...I had pretty bad credit at the time...they reset a couple months ago to 10.375, and had a lifetime cap of 14.99. I was lazy, didn't start the process until after it had reset. Ooops. My bad...

So now I have a 15-yr note (just one) at 5.87%! Making just $200 extra payments each month brings me into the 10-year payoff range. Woot! If I can also throw $2000 a year at my mortgage when bonus time comes around, it takes it down into the 7-8 year range!!!

So I'm pretty stoked right now...things are coming together nicely!

Cool... It's about time for me to refi. Was the 5.87% with points?

SpankyPants · #5 12-27-2007, 07:13 AM

I'm not quite sure what all of that means, but it sounds like you're pretty happy about it.

Congrats, bro. You're one of the few people coming out of this holiday season that are further from debt.

Bassic83 · #6 12-27-2007, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

NICE. I also recommend paying weekly and whenever you get a raise put the extra money toward your mortgage payment. That will knock a few years off as well.

lowsound

I will try to get it on a weekly pay, but it depends a lot on the final bank I end up with. Some will not let you do that, or charge insane fees to set that up. One of the things I like about the bi-weekly is that it coincides with my paydays, so I just automate it. I could also do weekly if the bank allows that (most around here don't, though). Most are happy to help with the bi-weekly, as it is pretty common. They usually balk at uncommon things, like setting up weekly payments. I do understand the benefits, as it has a tremendous impact on both your principal and your credit score. Regardless, I plan on being debt-free in the next year or so (mortgage excepted, as it is "good debt", and I can write off the interest on taxes).

I wish more people were aware of things they can do to help themselves financially. I admit, I was a dolt about finances for a LONG time, thinking it was too complicated to get a handle on (and the banks rely on people not being aware, or not understanding financial principles to rake in free profits!), but it's really quite simple. Anything I can do to cheat the banks out of my money is a good thing! And it ends up being more fun and more legal than cheating on taxes! Where people stumble is on compounding interest, which is logical, but counter-intuitive. If only they taught basic money management in school. I had to learn on my own how to not get raped by banks.

Bassic83 · #7 12-27-2007, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atoz

Cool... It's about time for me to refi. Was the 5.87% with points?

Nope- it was a straight ahead deal. Didn't have to pay points, didn't have much in closing costs, either. Most of it was using the documentation (survey, etc.), the only things I had to have new were the appraisal, new credit pull, and verification of income. The rest of it was pretty much rubber-stamp. My mortgage broker is my next-door neighbor, and he did me right, knowing that if it was a bad deal, he'd have to replace that water-inlet PVC pipe on the side of his house on a weekly basis!