A listener, Ralph, has a question about refinancing. He says he has the deed to his property, but there’s a note attached to it. He has a monthly $793 payment that he has fallen a couple of months behind on. He wants to know how he can refinance his loan so he can lower his payments.

Ralph, there’s a few things you need to consider:

• You’ll need to get caught up on your payments before you refinance
• There are costs associated to refinancing — you’ll have to get the property reappraised, and pay another round of closing costs.
• Being behind on your payments is serious… Call your lender immediately. Anytime you fall behind on payments, you need to call your lender and explain the situation.

And, there are options available that probably make more sense than refinancing:

• Forbearance, an agreement you reach with your lender, means you’ll stop making your payments or will make smaller payments for a set amount of time
• When that time is over, you’ll have to pay extra to make up for it
• Alternatively, you can make a repayment plan with your lender, to catch up with the past-due amounts on schedule.

Hope that helps!

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Categories
Homebuyer, Mortgages