Setting Goals for Your Mortgage
Refinance
You
probably thought doing a mortgage refinance was an end unto
itself, didn't you? Well, the unplanned act leads to unplanned
problems.
It is vital you think about what you
want a mortgage refinance to do for you, and seriously consider
how a mortgage refinance fits into your financial
goals.
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The Rule of 72 and Your
Mortgage Refinance
The great thing about money
is you can calculate how much
you will have, and how much you
have lost, with a simple
formula and extreme accuracy.
One such formula, the Rule of
72, helps determine how many
years it takes for money to
double – or debt to double, as
the case may be in your
mortgage refinance.
Using the Rule of 72 when
shopping for your mortgage
refinance can be very handy,
especially if you do not intend
on keeping the house for the
rest of your life. By plugging
your new rate from the mortgage
refinance into the formula, you
can quickly, easily, and
accurately figure out exactly
when you would want to sell the
house or do another mortgage
refinance.
How it Works
All that you have to do is
divide 72 by the rate of your
mortgage refinance. For
instance, let's say your new
rate would be 6% - just as an
example – your debt would
double every 12 years. However,
there is a special rate
you should run from if you are
paying it with your mortgage
refinance, but fall all over
yourself if you have a chance
to earn it.
When the rate on your
mortgage refinance doubles,
your debt doubles twice as
quickly. Or at least, that is
the typical way of things. For
instance, a 4% rate on your
mortgage refinance would cause
your debt to double in 18
years, whereas 8% would double
your debt in 9 years.
Logically then, 12% would
work the same, and double every
6 years. However, if you were
to chart it out for your
mortgage refinance, you would
quickly see that by doubling
your debt every 6 years, the
amount you owe increases much
faster than any other rate.
Three times as fast, to be
precise.
Knowing this about your
mortgage refinance and how
quickly your debt would double,
you are now better prepared to
pick the best rate for you.
However, it should be noted the
Rule of 72 only works for
scheduled (also known as “rip
off”) loans.
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Take a Step Back
First you need to look away from the whole ordeal of a
mortgage refinance and think about what you want to accomplish
financially. Do you need to retire in twenty years? Then it
might not be such a great idea to have a mortgage refinance
with high payments during that time, especially if you do not
have all that you need saved up already.
It is alright to put off the final payment of your mortgage
refinance until the more imperative goals have been met. After
all, if you opt for a longer term, lower payment mortgage
refinance, you could always sell your home later on and
purchase something a little better suited to your needs later
on in life – in other words, smaller and less expensive.
Be Realistic
You can not know exactly what the future holds, much less
what will happen in the term of your new mortgage refinance.
Your family may not be as large in the next decade, or maybe
you will need to move a great distance and buy another
house.
Knowing your mortgage refinance exit strategy will help you
to avoid the most common financial pitfalls of your average
consumer. In other words, figure out exactly what the point is
to getting a mortgage refinance in the first place, and use
that plan to pick the best mortgage refinance for your future
goals and needs.
Prepare for the worst and hope for the best, but most
importantly, make sure you do all you can to ensure that the
most imperative goals are met with your mortgage refinance. The
short term payment savings from a mortgage refinance are less
important than long term boost to investments you can have if
you use those savings intelligently.
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