Refinancing — the Fed to the Rescue of New York Homeowners?

Is the price of re-financing worth the expense in New York? Well, as you can imagine, that depends.

As a recent NYTimes article points out, as the prices for mortgages drop, consumer interest perks up, and we all go around wondering whether it makes sense to re-finance again!!

Here’s the rub– typical real estate mortgages last for about five to seven years before the mortgagor (homeowner) sells or refinances, but lenders compensate for such fluctuation by collecting much of the mortgage interest up front. So, if you are in your home for the long term, and have paid off more than five to seven years worth of debt, you are watching your equity grow and the overall debt drop more quickly– a nice thought in today’s market. But, now the banks are offering very low interest rates (less than five percent in some cases). Now what?

Bite the bullet and re-finance if you are in it for the long haul, but read the article, and consider a CEMA– discussed here.