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If you are planning on moving within 2 years it may not pay to refinance. The way to determine if a refinance is good for you is to call 3 local mortgage professionals and find out how much it will cost to refinance. Then divide this number by how much you will save. An example, I live in SC and on a $150,000 loan your cost will be about $3,500. If you are saving $200 a month or $2400 a year it will take you about 1.5 years to break even. Therefore it this situation I would recommend refinancing. However, If you were only saving $50 a month or $600 a year then it will take you 4 years so I would not recommend refinancing. Your situation has another factor in that you have an adjustable rate. I am assuming that the rate can change Oct 2010. If you can tell me that you are going to stay in this home longer than 3 years then I would refinance regardless of the numbers about because I believe rates will be much higher in 3 years. If you are going to move in 2 years then I think rates will be low for another year which help you but I see rates increasing over the next 36 months. I would also recommend NOT listing your home when you have NO intention of selling. A buyer looking at your home in future will question why has the home been on the market for so long and wonder if there are issue with the home such as roof and etc. Good luck

by William

4 weeks ago

Asker's Rating: 

Read the terms of your loan carefully. If it is an arm, it has some baseline to it (such as your loan is Prime plus 1%, or Libor plus 0.25%). With interest rates so low right now, it is possible that your interest rate will go down for a while. If you have no equity in the house, refinancing will be impossible unless you bring cash to the table to pay down some of the principal balance of the loan. If you aren't planning on staying long, and have some equity in the house, I would look into a low cost refi - such as through ING bank, which offers a 3.99% loan. First things first though, is review your loan terms and find out what will happen with your ARM, and whether or not you can afford a rate adjustment. That will help you get to the rest of your answer.

by Lauren F- 4 weeks ago

Most lenders won't refi while the house is listed for sale. Call you lender and ask what options they can offer. Why is your home listed now if you don't plan to sell for a year or two? If you are not really serious about selling you should probably take it off the market and explore your refi options.

by CAtransplant- 4 weeks ago