About Closing Costs with a Refi

Why are closing costs so high for my refi?

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Bill's Answer: Bills.com Resident Expert

Thanks for your question, Tina. I'm glad that you've decided to do your homework before committing to a loan. Many borrowers fail to ask questions or comparison shop, and end up paying a lot more for their loans than they should pay.

First, I would also strongly encourage you to compare rates and offers from multiple lenders. You can apply with Bills approved lender network (Mortgage Refinance Quote), and see if you can get a better deal!

It is difficult for me to accurately answer your question, as I do not know the value of your home, the amount you are trying to borrow, the terms of your current loan, or your credit score. Without this information, I cannot accurately estimate how much you should expect to pay for a refinance loan. However, I can tell you that a 12.88% interest rate is quite high, and I would encourage you to shop around to find out what rates other lenders are able to offer you. I expect that you will be able to find a significantly lower interest rate offer if you take some time to speak with various lenders to find out what rates they can offer.

The appropriate amount of the closing costs for a potential loan is much more difficult to judge, as the amount of closing costs are generally calculated as a percentage of the loan amount. If your loan is for $100,000, then $13,000 in closing costs is extremely high, but if you are talking about a 500,000 loan, $13,000 is not unreasonable. On average, closing costs range between 1% and 5% of the total amount of the loan. Since you have poor credit, you can expect to pay closer to 5%. So, if your refinance loan is for $100,000, you should expect to pay $4,000 to $5,000 in closing costs.

Overall, it sounds like the loan you have been offered is a relatively high-cost loan. Again, I encourage you to shop around to find a lender who can offer you less expensive loan option. I invite you to visit the Bills.com Home Refinance Resources page to learn more about refinance loans. If you enter your contact information in the Bills.com Savings Center at the top of the page, I can have several pre-screened mortgage lenders contact you to discuss the options available to you.

I hope this information will help you Find. Learn. Save.

Best,

Bill

www.bills.com

Comments (4)


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Bills.com
April 28, 2008
If you can afford the monthly payment, then go for the 15 year loan. You will be paying a substantially lower amount by way of total interest when you compare a 15 year loan to a 30 year loan. You do not state as to how long you have paid on your existing loan, but if you were to compare these two loans in pure terms, at the end of 10 years the cumulative interest paid on the 15 year loan would be approximately $86,480. The cumulative interest on the 30 year loan after 10 years would be $104,670, even with the closing costs you would have saved about $6000. What you need to see is the amortization table for your existing loan and see how much you would spend (in interest) after 10 years of payments. You would then compare this to the total interest paid on your 15 year loan after 10 years, plus the $12000 in closing costs. Hope that is not confusing and clears your dilemma.
Michael .
April 27, 2008
I'm looking at a 15 year refi @ 5%. Current loan balance is 218,000 @ 6.375% on a 30 year. New loan is for $235,000 (value $250,000) with $12,000 total settlement charges. This new loan will increase our monthly payments by $400.00 We plan on being in our current home 10 years and are in the process of buying investment properties. I'm unsure if this is a good move considering the high closing cost. I've run a number of tables to see what our break even period would be but I dont believe they take into consideration the cash out amount. What are your thoughts on this loan?
Bill S.
August 22, 2007
The best answer is that you should get competing quotes from several lenders and see if you can get a better deal. Sometimes, your broker charges you a fee in points or in yield spread premium for their work. Sometimes, points are used to buy down the rate (which means that your interest rate on the loan declines, but the principal balance increases). If you are deciding to buy down or not, you should evaluate how long you will live in the home and consequently have the loan... and also if your income/cash flow will change dramatically over the term of the loan.
Kathy L.
August 22, 2007
I have received a quote to refinance my primary residence through Fannie Mae. Please advise why I would have to buy down my points. what purpose does this provide and what are normal fees and closing costs?
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