Refinancing has grown popular over the years. What this means is that people decide to change their current mortgage.
They come to us for a new mortgage not because they want to move to a new town or a new neighborhood or a new house. They want to stay in the same town, in the same neighborhood, in the same house.
They just want a new mortgage.
There are several reasons why somebody might want a new mortgage, even if they don’t want to move. Here are the top 8:
- To save money. This is the best reason to refinance your home, and it happens whenever interest rates trend even slightly down.
Simply put, you look at your current mortgage. You look at the rates being offered on a new mortgage. You see that the rates being offered are lower than the rate you are paying now. You do the math, and realize that if you switch your current rate for the new, lower rate, you could save hundreds, maybe even thousands, of dollars.
So you pick up the phone and call us. And we smile, because we know we are about to help you get the lowest rate possible.
- To upgrade your home. Less frequent than for saving money, people refinance their homes to pay for a major upgrade. Upgrades cost money. If they are large enough, they might cost a lot of money.
And there’s a lot of money available as stored equity in your home. Some people tap into that equity to cover the costs of the upgrade, knowing that the value of the house will rise once the upgrades are complete. This is usually done for big projects, such as:
- adding an extension to the house
- adding a garage
- building an in-ground pool
- To restructure your career. This is another happy reason to refinance your mortgage. Sometimes people want to chuck the nine-to-five and become a freelancer or an entrepreneur.
Freelancers and entrepreneurs who want to buy a new home often face problems getting a self-employed mortgage. Not all the banks consider them a safe risk. Not all the banks have the patience to review their more complex income paperwork. If the bank says “No”, that’s OK. Avrus says “Yes” to self-employed mortgages.
When making a career change, you might want to refinance to give yourself more flexibility. A new entrepreneur might want to rearrange all his finances so as to be able to focus on his new business venture.
- To pay for the new kid on the block. Kids cost money. And sometimes those expenses were not planned when you arranged your mortgage. Refinancing is a useful tool you can use to help rearrange your finances to pay for the new kid on the block - your son or daughter.
Sure, it’s not good that you have more expenses than planned. But at least those expenses are for a wonderful reason.
- To consolidate debt. This is the “make lemonade out of lemons” reason to refinance. It’s bad news that a family might have so much debt that they need to consolidate, but it’s good news that by consolidating that debt they are able to put their lives back in order.
Usually a debt consolidation mortgage comes at a much lower interest rate than a variety of credit card debt and consumer loans that are outstanding. By consolidating this debt at a lower interest rate, you can spend less money paying the interest and more money paying down the debt.
- To survive a downsizing. This is not such a happy reason to refinance. Sometimes people lose their jobs. They get laid off. They get fired. They get downsized. Their company shuts its doors.
When you lose your job, making the mortgage payments might suddenly get more challenging. We understand. That’s a good time to refinance your home to reduce the monthly or weekly payments until you can get back on your feet. It’s not a happy reason to refinance, but it is a good thing that refinancing is available to you in that kind of situation.
- To care for your sick or injured self. What happens if you suddenly get sick or injured. You might not be able to earn income, and medical expenses could hit the roof. Refinancing to the rescue! It’s a horrible reason to have to refinance, but it’s a good thing the option is there.
- To care for a loved one. You are not the only one who gets sick or injured. Your spouse might. Your child might. Your parent might. And although you might be able to keep earning your income, the medical expenses might be prohibitive. Refinancing your mortgage is one important thing you can do to keep some control on your household finances.
Whatever reason you want to refinance, we can help you navigate the options and the paperwork. Everyone is welcome; no problem is too big or two small.
