FHA Streamline Refinancing – My Personal Experience
My husband and I purchased our home in 2008 with an FHA loan. We were lucky to get a house we loved in a great neighborhood for a price that was within our budget. Working at Quicken Loans, it’s hard not to notice that mortgage rates have been at all-time lows and I began to wonder if we could refinance our house.
Like many people, I was concerned about the value of our property. I started using property value estimation sites to research what our home might be worth. I was surprised to see that according to these sites, in just two years, our property value dropped by $20,000. I figured there was no way we could refinance. I continued to play with our mortgage amortization calculator and dream of a time when we could refinance.
Suddenly, I came back to my senses. Why were you making an assumption about our ability to refinance? Sure, I saw what a website said our home’s value would be, but why wasn’t I personally talking to someone about our specific situation? I reached out to a home loan expert and before I knew it I was in the works and working to close on our FHA streamlined refinance.
Since we are on an FHA loan, we were able to refinance without a new appraisal. For us, refinancing means that we have reduced our mortgage rate by almost 2 points (or 2%) and are saving $200 per month, which is huge for us! Even at our original mortgage rate, we were able to make an additional payment each year, reducing our 30-year term by about 10 years. We refinanced another 30-year FHA loan, but we still plan to make that extra payment each year. We will pay off our loan sooner and save $200 a month. It’s pretty amazing.
Needless to say, my experience throughout the loan process was excellent. My entire closing team made sure the process went smoothly and we signed our closing documents at our favorite bar! That’s right: Quicken Loans will find you anywhere for your closing. I really enjoyed having an adult beverage while legally finalizing our savings.
Every situation is unique, but if you have an FHA loan and have a mortgage rate above 4.5% and haven’t talked to a home loan expert about your ability to refinance, what are you waiting for? Average FHA mortgage rates have hit a new all-time low, averaging 4.19%. With the holiday season just around the corner, now is the perfect time to refinance your FHA loan.