The Secret to A Successful Mortgage Refinance

Here are some simple things that can go a long way in ensuring that your purchase loan or refinance goes smoothly and funds without complication.

In order to refinance you home you are going to have to have enough equity in the home. The first thing you will want to do is to try to determine the current value of your home. Now if that last time you refinanced your loan to value was 65% you’re not going to have to worry about value. On the other hand, if your loan to value was 85% or higher, you may have an issue. You should try to determine if you have enough equity to do the new loan. If you have a copy of your last appraisal you may be able to answer the equity question right then and there.

Look at the old appraisal and your loan papers for a point of reference. If you borrowed $450 thousand and you see on your appraisal the home was valued at $500 thousand you may have an issue. You may be able to find comparable sales on the internet on yahoo real estate. If you have the appraisal you should see who the appraiser is and call them. They are usually all too happy to help knowing that since they did the last appraisal they will probably be able to do the new one.

Remind them of your address and what they appraised the home at the last time. If you have done any improvements since they last appraised it fill them in on that as well. This may sound shady, but if you use the same appraiser you are likely to get a better value as they will not want to low ball you because then their last appraisal is suspect. This is especially important if you are on the edge regarding your home’s value. You should also let them know what you think the value should be and why. If they know you need a value of $400 thousand to do the loan it may swing them your way if they are on the fence about the value. There is no guarantee this will work, and it may even help.

You might also call a local realtor and mention you are thinking about selling your house, and how much does he/she think you could get for it. This method works sometimes and it really depends upon the realtor. Some will not give you much information unless you are willing to meet and talk about listing you home through them to sell. I have had varying results with this method and it is not the most accurate method.

You can also refer to your tax assessed value, you most current one, and it’s a pretty safe bet your home will appraise for at least that amount. If your assessed value reads $400 thousand and you need that value to do the loan I would say go ahead with the loan process. It is rare that the home’s value is less that the assessed value.

You can also call a title company and they may be able to help out. I would first try one that you have used before, and you might even remind them of your past business with them. That should get them in your court. If you offer to open escrow with them they will most likely bend over backwards to help you out.

Basically I would try all these methods, gather your data and between them you should be able to figure out if you have enough equity in your property to refinance. Then it is time to go one to the next step towards paving the way for a smooth loan process.

Good luck and happy refinancing.