Ive been doing some calculating....

If I can get a 4.5% fixed 20 year loan my payments will stay the same and I can pay off my house 10 years early.

Or even better yet, if I can get a 30 year fixed (at 4.5%), pay the difference in a 20 and 30 year loan, Ill have my house paid off in 20 years with the flexability to pay less each month.

But will it get that low? (I realize you all know WAY more about this than me... Im just excited)

I currently have a 6.375 30 year fixed on a 80% value loan... Since may 07.

 

It's impossible to guess any of the variables involved, muchless the end result in the form of what rate you can refinance at.

Generally speaking though, the fed will probably cut at least one more time, to around 3%. If the LIBOR among other things cooperate, expect them to go down another half percent. This is an unusual time as although rates are decreasing substantially, banks are still in desperate need of capital/business. There a few guys out there doing 'no cost' refinances right now. Whether they [countrywide for example] offer the best rates as well I don't know.

 

i had a 6.75 at the height of the rate hikes (no choice) and just re-fi'd at 5.75. the place i went with said if i paid my mortgage on time for 4 months and the rate drops by another .5% they'll re-fi for free. i'm pretty happy with 5.75, 30 fixed, which is the same rate i had in Cali but that was a 5-ARM (back in 2003/2004). i say keep an eye on the 10-year bond rates and see if the rates have been leveling off, that'll be a signal.

 

Yes you can get a 4.5% fixed right now.. IF you have enough money on hand to pay an extra point or 2. I have been looking at this for a little while now, but don't have the cash to spend on closing costs for refinancing until after my tax return. However I have found that if you pay 1.25 points or so you can get it down to the low 4's.

 

I locked last Tuesday (1/22) @ 5.125 30yr fixed with .125pts. I'm rolling a high rate HELOC and primary mortgage into a single note. Apparently, my bank re-priced mid-day following the Fed emergency action.

Bank picks up their application fee so I'm expecting only ~$2k in fees, which was acceptable to me.

I'm very happy at that rate, but expect it to go to 5.000 or slightly lower in the coming months. I just couldn't risk missing the bounce for the sure thing.

 

You don't want a fixed rate right now if you can help it. Rates will drop at least another full percentage point before they are done. Wait until the fall for the best rates.

 

See... now thats what I want to hear.

 

I don't know whether things will get much better or not from here. LT rate movements aren't always correlated w/ ST rates, as the yield curve can be volatile. I've been looking to refi my 30 yr. mortgage into a 15 year, and rates are actually up following the most recent Fed cut.

B of A will do a free refi on my mortage (which they currently hold). Yesterday's rate was 5.625%, and that's w/ excellent credit and 40+% equity. I prob. won't get the best rate poss. on a no-cost deal, but I can always re-fi again when rates improve again, and I'll have no incremental investment in this mortgage.

The floor we're going to see on rates is potentially driven by a couple of factors. First, lower rates motivate investors to sell bonds and buy stocks, driving yields higher. Secondly, the feds moves are inflationary, and higher inflation expectations are bad for long term bond yields.

My advice is not to be too greedy, as a bird in hand is better than two in the bush. If you can accurately predict interest rates, quit your job and trade bonds/bond options - you'll make a lot more money!

 

try calling around - i did that with 2 local brokers, Chase, Countrywide, and Quicken Loans. after looking at everything submitted to me i went with Quicken Loans for the 30 fixed because their deal was the best. i don't have that much equity in my house so the highest $ loan to the lowest % rate was my goal.