Refinancing Decisions – Step by Step

You bought your house several years ago, and since then, both your personal situation and the economy overall has changed significantly. You’ve made the decision to reassess your financial situation and carve a new path in moving forward. Since your house payment is probably your single biggest monthly expense, and your largest long term debt obligation, a reevaluation of how your loan is structured should be part of your financial evaluation.

Assess your current situation

What has changed in the last few years to make a reassessment necessary? Personal changes may include divorce, marriage, changes in your lifestyle, changes in income, college plans, pending retirement, or unexpected major home repairs or other expenses. In recent years, job changes, income changes, and income disruptions have contributed to an increase in refinancing evaluations and decisions.

Determine your short and long term goals

Are you trying to lock in fixed payments, lower monthly payments, shorten on lengthen the terms of your loan? Do you need to “cash out” built up equity to pay short term bills or unexpected expenses? How will this restructuring impact your overall financial goals?

Shop for loan alternatives

Certainly, there are lots of options when it comes to refinancing a loan. Home Lender Depot offers a consolidated and efficient way to comparison shop with little effort. We work with hundreds of lenders and offer you, the customer, the ability to enter your financial profile once online, and we match your loan application with lenders that can best meet your needs. What could be easier? Traditional loan applications requires appointments with lenders, and long application processes with each potential lender.

We compare loan offers and alternatives

When making the final decision, we evaluate closing costs, overall terms, and longer term interest rates. Upfront fees will typically include a loan origination and appraisal fee, closing and title costs. We make sure you understand your obligations and overall costs and interest rate before closing the loan.

Finalize your loan

It typically takes several weeks to finalize the refinancing loan. You will need to complete a formalized loan application, provide proof of income, have an appraisal done on your home, make arrangements to pay for closing costs, and allow time for your complete application to be processed.