Mortgage Refinancing Gets Tougher
by Ruth SimonTuesday, February 13, 2007provided by
With rates on many homeowners' adjustable-rate mortgages rising, some who would like to refinance into a new loan are finding they can't.
In some cases, that is because their loan carries a prepayment penalty, which would force them to come up with thousands of dollars if they refinance in the first few years. Such penalties are common with so-called option adjustable-rate mortgages, which typically carry a low teaser rate that rises sharply after an introductory period.
Other borrowers are getting caught short by a changing housing market -- one in which home prices have flattened and lenders are beginning to tighten their standards after a long period of making mortgages easier and easier to get. The challenges are greatest for homeowners whose credit has declined since they took out their last loan and for those who have little if any equity. Some of these borrowers are still able to refinance but are finding it more costly than they expected.
|
These new challenges come at a time when many borrowers who took out adjustable-rate mortgages are facing higher payments. There are about $1.1 trillion to $1.5 trillion in ARMs that will face rate increases this year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA expects borrowers to refinance as much as $700 billion of those mortgages.
Comments(1)