Looking for advice on refinancing

[jbphburg]

I'm looking into refinancing and was wondering what some of my options are, specifically does it make sense to lower my rate and receive cash for the purpose of clearing up existing debt? I want to open a small business in the future and feel that I need to get back up to ground level financially so that I can start saving money towards this goal.
I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 75K or so in equity in my home, how may that effect my decision making?
Any ideas are appriciated.

[john8pies]

For specific info, I`d suggest you talk to a qualified financial adviser ( I think they have to be approved by FIMBRA or some such organisation). Or you can go to similar organisations on the Internet, eg, charcolonline or MotleyFool.

Generally speaking, and this is not to be taken as qualified advice, yes, it is possible to refinance your mortgage (usually), often at a lower rate. However, the plethora of different deals out there makes it not as straightforward a business as you might otherwise think, eg, some firms charge you if you make an early repayment (yep, can you believe that, being charged to pay somebody your own money?!), some firms allow overpayments or underpayments, some firms have fixed, discounted, variable rates, etc etc. Of course, you WILL have to pay more to repay any extra money you may borrow but then again if you re-mortgage / re-finance at a lower interest rate it may not be too bad. Good luck!

[Philadelphia Eagle]

If you can refinance at better interest rates than you are presently paying it makes obvious sense to do so.

At the same time, if this means that you could pay off some other borrowings it also makes good sense as you present other debts will almost certainly be at higher rates of interest than your home loan or mortgage.

Provided it's affordable and comfortable for you I would consider a rwefinance package seriously. But I wouldn't wait too long. Interest rates are creeping up and tomorrow the Federal Reserve Board are likely to announce a further quarter point rise.

[Agnes]

gather 3 years of income tax returns, go to the bank and fill out an application. good rates are usually specials a bank my be running, otherwise your rate depends on your credit, equity and assets. refinacing is a good way to clean up old debt, but in order to receive additional monies your home has to appraise more than what you owe, they only lend a percentage of the value of property?

if you plan to start a business, be ready to work long hours, with no income & sacrifice, sacrifice and then remortgage a few times. its a never ending cycle. good luck.

[gmc]

If you're in the UK get hold of an independent fnancial adviser, one that also does mortgages- a web search will find one locally for you. A good one will tell you if it's a goer before spending any time on it. Also if you are self employed and you don't have three years accounts do a search under self cert mortgages. Before you go to your bank make sure you have a rough idea of what your options are. If in the US ignore everything I just said.