We bought our home 2.5 years ago on an FHA loan and want to refi into a traditional loan. We plan to live here for 5-7 more years, and potential rent the home after that.We currently want to lower our monthly payment so that we can be aggressive with paying off student loan debt before becoming aggressive on our mortgage. Would you recommend an ARM for the short term and then refi again down the road into a shorter term FRM? by christa.aaron191 from San Francisco, California. May 28th 2014
Hi Christa,If you are planning on keeping your home as a rental, I would recommend refi into a 30, 20 or 15 year fixed. You can also refinance into a 27 or 28 year loan so that you do not extend the current payoff date of your loan. Fixed rates are still relatively low (low 4's) and you would want your rate to stay low and fixed if you are planning on keeping the home as a rental so that your cash flow from the rental is relatively steady. In 5-7 years, the economy will most likely be healthy and fixed rates will be higher then they are now.Jeff PhillipsHPI Financial415-867-6488
I agree with Jeff. If you plan to keep as a rental you would want the payments to be dependable and not change like an ARM will.
It's a very simple process. Your SF home likely has appreciated substantially since your purchase and you no doubt qualify for conventional financing now. A 30 year fixed loan now, with interest rates so low, would be a bettrer choice than an ARM in my opinion. Please give me a call and we can discuss.
If you are planning on staying in the home for more than 5-7 years, then a fixed-rate mortgage is your best bet. In the future, you can also potentially refinance to a shorter term loan (like a 15 year or 10 year fixed rate) once you have paid off your student loan debt and are ready to become more aggressive with your mortgage.
Depending on how much your home has appreciated over the last 2.5 years you might be able to refinance into a conventional home loan and drop off your FHA Monthly MIP and further reduce your payment. I would advise speaking with a licensed mortgage lender in your area and have them run some comps on your property to give you a better idea on your value and the programs that would best fit your needs. I would also advise obtaining a fixed rate mortgage if your goal is to rent this property out long term since rates are still low. Best of luck.
With the rates where they are right now and not knowing what the future will bring, I would go with a fixed rate mortgage especially if you plan on keeping property and renting it out.
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