Have you been waiting for the best rate  or just procrastinating?    Have you been thinking about refinancing but just did not know where to go or what you needed?   Did you think the rate hike took you out of the market?

Rate are still down even though there was a slight upward movement.  This may be the best time to look at Refinancing your house and get rates fixed long term in the low 5%.   Check out the resources and calculators on this site – Mortgage Calculators.  It will give you an idea if refinancing can save you money.

One of the problems with refinancing is the paperwork.  Yes, banks are asking for the whole portfolio now but do not let that stop you.   For example, as you get your taxes done, you can use them to look at the financial goals.  This may be the best time to look at your finances and see if it makes sense to refinance your home and lower your bills.  Below is the items needed to refinance your house.

‘Stacking & Packing’ Submitting Order for Refinance

1.  Pricing Sheet
2.  1003 Loan Application
3.  Appraisals
4. Credit Report
5. Homeowners Insurance Declaration Page & paid receipt
6. Borrowers Authorization & Form 4506T
7.  Mortgage Statement / Note
8.  Assets – Checking, Savings, IRA, 401K, etc.   (if no assets, write  on  blank paper “No Assets”)
9. Income (‘08 W2- ‘09 W2- Paystubs – Award Letter, etc)  
10.  Bankruptcy / Foreclosure Information (if applicable)

If you get the paperwork ready and a willingness to co-operate, you can get your house refinanced in about 4-6 weeks.  Wow, lower your monthly payment next month!    To look at some of the rates and you new mortgage principle payment, take a look at  Xpress Quote 

Mortgage rates are at all time lows and Banks are getting stronger willing to lend.   Programs like Refinance and 203K loans allows you use the equity of your house for money saving projects. 

Not long ago, you could have your big remodeling project and get your money back too. Owners recouped an average of 87% of home improvement costs at resale in 2005, according to Remodeling magazine.   But by 2010 the magazine had pegged the typical payback at just 60%. Hardly the right time to tackle the new kitchen or master bathroom you’ve been dreaming of, right?

Not so fast, says Kermit Baker, senior research fellow at Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.   ”In many cases, these projects make more sense now than they did at the height of the market,” he said.

Assuming you like what you can’t change about your home — the neighborhood, the school district, the proximity to things that matter to you — and you’re planning on staying for five or more years, improving your home is a smart move. Here’s why.

1. Funding is cheap

The current economic climate sweetens the pot for people on solid financial footing. Should I spend $60,000 to renovate my house?  “The Fed doesn’t want you to save — it wants you to put your dollars into circulation,” said Keith Gumbinger, mortgage market analyst at HSH.com.

Today’s historically low interest rates mean that most home-equity lines of credit are charging their floor rates (your HELOC’s probably is around 3% if you’ve held it for a couple of years, 4% or 5% if the loan is more recent).

And with the typical bank account and money fund paying far less than 1%, drawing down your savings barely costs you anything in lost income — just don’t jeopardize your safety cushion.

2. Eager contractors are discounting

Although the construction industry rebounded somewhat last year, business is still slow. Remember when getting a contractor to call you back was a challenge?  Now the best pros in town will happily bid on your job — and they’ll probably offer you prices that are 10% to 20% below what you would have paid when real estate was going gangbusters, according to Bernard Markstein, senior economist for the National Association of Home Builders.

The cost of building supplies has tumbled too. Plywood is down 23% since its peak in the mid-2000s. Drywall is off 29%, framing lumber 35%.   Not all raw materials prices have fallen that much: Asphalt roofing, which is made from a petroleum byproduct, is down only 7% over the past two years. Insulation — which has been in high demand because of energy rebates and high fuel prices — is down a mere 2% since 2006. Still, on the whole, construction supplies are bargains right now.

3. You’ll cut your energy costs

You don’t have to hire a green builder to see energy savings from a renovation. In a prewar house in the high-energy-cost Northeast, for example, a standard kitchen remodel could cut your utility expenses by $400 a year thanks to new insulation, windows, and appliances.   Even years of such savings will never come close to covering the project’s price tag, but think of your lower electric and heating bills as an annual dividend.

4. You can keep that sub-5% mortgage

As long as you’re not underwater and haven’t wrecked your credit, you’ve been able to take advantage of recent rock-bottom interest rates to lock in a fixed-rate mortgage below 5%.   Move several years from now, and you’ll have to give up that loan, probably for something in the sixes or sevens, said Harvard’s Baker. That’s not bad, but it could mean hundreds a month in added interest costs.   ”If you can remodel your way into staying put long term, you can hold on to that once-in-a-lifetime rate,” says Baker.

5. You get to enjoy the results

When it comes time to sell your place, chances are you’ll probably wind up having to do the sorely needed renovations you didn’t take care of earlier. Not only does that add a huge amount of stress to the process of putting a house on the market, but you still end up spending the money (quite possibly when contractor, materials, and borrowing costs are higher).

Why not get the benefits of a new furnace or an updated powder room for you and your family instead of buying them for the house’s next owners? And why not do the projects soon so you get as much time as possible to enjoy the results?  Unlike vacations, luxury cars, or other discretionary expenditures, your remodeling project might recoup a significant chunk of its cost someday.

Check out today’s rates and your approximate new mortgage payment at:  www.XpressMortgageQuote.com