As interest rates continue to touch on historic lows, you might want to refinance. A mortgage refinance can get you a lower monthly mortgage payment, a shorter loan term or cash back. All of these alternatives can save you money.
Mortgage rates have been low for so long that you might not remember the days when rates were higher.In 1981, home mortgage rates peaked at 16.63% APR, according to Freddie Mac. Average rates gradually fell, but were still 9.25% APR in 1991.
In contrast with those sky-high rates, home mortgage interest rates in recent years have been low. Since 2010, they have been below 5% APR. Anyone who took out a mortgage prior to 2010 might want to consider a home loanrefinance.
Benefits of Refinancing Your Mortgage
Deciding torefinance a mortgage offers several potential benefits:
- You can lower the interest rate. Doing so should reduce your monthly payment amount.
- You can shorten the loan term. For example, you can switch from a 30-year, fixed-rate loan to a 15-year, fixed-rate loan to save money on total interest payments.
- You can create more certainty. If you currently have a mortgage with a variable interest rate, you can switch to the certainty of a fixed interest rate.
- You can take out a loan. If you have equity in your home, you might refinance the mortgage and take out some of the equity to use for home remodeling or other purposes.
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Contacting a bank or mortgage lender is the simplest way toapply for a mortgagerefinance.Look to an accredited mortgage professional certified by theMortgage Bankers Associationfor help refinancing your mortgage. Additionally, you can check out your state’slow mortgage ratelenders on GOBankingRates and use lenders’online mortgage refinancing calculators to see how much money you might save by refinancing.
Despite your best efforts, it is possible your mortgage refinancingapplication will be denied. By understanding why your application was denied and exploring options from various lenders, you can take steps to refinance successfully after you’ve addressed financial concerns, chosen a new lender, or both.
Related: How to Negotiate a Lower Modified Mortgage Loan
Why Lenders Deny a Mortgage Refinancing Application
Lendersmight deny yourmortgage refinancingapplication for many reasons, including the following:
- Yourmortgage is underwater. An underwater mortgage is one in which you owe more money than the house is worth. Home prices fell during the recent recession’s “mortgage meltdown,”and many mortgage holders were left with mortgage debt greater than the value of their homes.
- Your income is too low or unstable. If your income does not meet a certain level, a lender might be hesitant to grant you a loan.
- Your credit score and credit history are weak.If you have negative marks on your credit report, such as missed payments or other credit flaws, a lender might deny your request to refinance.
- Yourdebt-to-income ratiodoes not meet the lender’s criteria. Each lender has specific requirements. For example, consider a lender that requires a 40 percent debt-to-income ratio. If you earn $5,000 per month and owe $2,500 in debt payments per month, your 50 percent debt-to-income ratio will not meet that lender’s requirement.
- Your home’s appraisal value is too low. For example, you might want to refinance a home you bought for $400,000 with a $320,000 mortgage. If the home is appraised at $375,000, you might only be allowed to refinance 80 percent of the home’s value, or $300,000.
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Related: How to Refinance If Your Home Appraisal Value Is Too Low
Mortgage Refinancing Options When Your Application Is Denied
Do not despair if a lender denies your application torefinanceamortgage. You might fear that you will be stuck making large mortgage payments with higher interest rates indefinitely, but you likely have more options.
First, find out why your mortgage application was denied.The law requires the lender to explain why your application was denied. You might want to correct the problem that triggered the denial first. Or, try another refinancing solution, such as one of the following:
- Apply with a different lender. Not all lenders are the same, and underwriting guidelines vary from lender to lender. If you are turned down by one lender, try another one.
- Apply with your current lender. If you looked first applied for refinancing with a new lender and were turned down, consider turning back to the lender behind your current mortgage. Check your lender’s mortgage refinancing ratesto find out how much money you might save. Your current lender might be anxious to retain your business.
- InvestigateFHAprograms.The Federal Housing Authority helps borrowers by offering affordable lending solutions.FHA loansinclude refinance loans and cash-out loans for consumers. The FHA Short Refinance loan can assist consumers with negative-equity mortgages.
- Consider the Home Affordable Refinance Program. Established by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, this government program is designed to help consumers with underwater mortgages.If your loan is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and you are current on your mortgage payments, you might be eligible for a HARP loan. The HARP program expires on Dec. 31, 2016.
- Improve your credit score. Ultimately, lenders want low-risk borrowers who have good credit scores. If your credit score is low, raising it might improve yourrefinancingopportunity. First, get afree copy of your credit reportand dispute any errors.Next, reduce your existing debt levels and set up payment reminders to pay your bills on time.
What the Application Denial Could Cost You
If your mortgage refinance application is denied, you could lose out on some fees and potentially a significant amount of time. When you plan to refinance, try to budget a realistic range of time for the process and savings for mortgage refinance fees in case you are denied so that you can minimize the impact of a denial. Otherwise, your attempts to refinance could be further delayed as you save up to restart the process.
Several mortgage refinance fees aren’t assessed unless the loan is approved —and some might even be waived during loan closing negotiations —but you might still be responsible for paying an application fee even if your application is denied. This fee can range from about $50 to $500, depending on the lender and loan.
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Other fees to prepare for in case your loan is approved include but are not limited to:
- Loan origination fees
- Property appraisal fees
- Miscellaneous service fees for credit checks, document processing, underwriting, etc.
- Discount points, or prepaid interest
- Title fees and insurance
- Taxes
The biggest cost of an application denial, however, might end up being the amount of time you invested in the process. The more prepared you are with all of the necessary documents to include with your application, the better your chances of making the process more efficient. If you leave information out, you risk having to spend several additional days corresponding with your loan processor to complete the application.
The entire refinancing process can take 30 to 90 days, depending on the lender, your application and you. Whether your application is denied early on during the application review or the loan falls through later on during loan processing and underwriting, you could end up losing several weeks of time.
Be Persistent If Your First Mortgage Refinancing Application Is Denied
Ultimately, if your mortgage refinancing application is denied, you haveoptions. Take a step-by-step approach to find out why the application was denied. Then, map out a plan to better your loan qualifications, improve your credit profile and apply for a different mortgage refinancingsolution.With added effort, you can improve your chances of getting approved for a mortgage refinance loan.
