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Refinancing and appraisal- did this happen to anyone else?
Our house appraised for much less than we expected, and needed. It's worth only about $15k more than what we owe.  We got a good deal on the loan, and it seems like our only option is to get PMI, which will eat into some of our savings (but we'll still save $300 a month.)
Are there any other refi options for people in a position like this? We've kept up with no problem but I'm about to leave my job to become self-employed, so I don't know if we have time to initiate something else, but I thought I'd ask anyway.
TIA.
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Posted 7/27/12 8:13 AM  |
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Mrs-D-Girl
Love my fur baby
Member since 8/07 5183 total posts
Name:
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Re: Refinancing and appraisal- did this happen to anyone else?
This happ to me when I did a re-fi about 3 years ago...I was so  , but we were still saving almost $300 a month and the way the market was & is, there was really no way of going around it at the time.
I am thinking of looking into a re-fi again due to the low rates out there and would love to know the options as well.
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| Posted 7/27/12 9:27 AM |
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Sweetlax22
LIF Adult
Member since 5/10 1904 total posts
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Re: Refinancing and appraisal- did this happen to anyone else?
We were in a similar situation this month and we ended up dipping into our savings to pay more of the principle of our house to avoid the pmi ( about 10000 in our case). We were planning on investing this money someplace else so we basically just invested it into our home.
Before we realized we could do this we figured the refinance would still be worth it even if we were paying the monthly pmi (our mortgage would be $ 10 less at this point) because it would only be for a few years and then we would get the benefits of today's really good interest rates.
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| Posted 7/27/12 11:34 AM |
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ave1024
I Took The Wrong Road
Member since 12/07 6153 total posts
Name:
That Led To The Wrong Tendencies
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Re: Refinancing and appraisal- did this happen to anyone else?
If you are about to go self employed, you would be best to refi now.
Also if you can pay down some of the principal to avoid PMI that would be a good choice. You would be getting a great return on that money you would be saving by avoiding the PMI.
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| Posted 7/27/12 1:11 PM |
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Lori11514
LIF Infant
Member since 11/10 229 total posts
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Refinancing and appraisal- did this happen to anyone else?
Something to think about is PMI is not tax deductible anymore, but mortgage interest is. We were going to refi and would have saved about $200 a month, but we'd be paying more in PMI so we opted to stay in our current loan.
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| Posted 7/27/12 4:50 PM |
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MrsRapz
mahna mahna!
Member since 2/12 1952 total posts
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Refinancing and appraisal- did this happen to anyone else?
not sure if you're able to, but another alternative is a HARP refi - you get a slightly higher rate, but no appraisal is needed. it *may* be worth it since, as PP said, mortgage interest is deductable but PMI is not.
good luck!
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| Posted 7/27/12 5:51 PM |
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laurabora
LIF Adult
Member since 4/07 2712 total posts
Name:
Laura
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Re: Refinancing and appraisal- did this happen to anyone else?
We were going to refi about six months ago but we appraised quite a bit lower than we expected. It was odd because we did a renovation mortgage and had just been appraised much higher at the close of that mortgage less than six months before. Keeping an eye on local comps and hoping to try again soon to take advantage of the great rates now!
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| Posted 7/27/12 6:55 PM |
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JandJ1224
Member since 6/06 5911 total posts
Name:
Jannette
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Re: Refinancing and appraisal- did this happen to anyone else?
Are you familiar w comps. Maybe appraisal can be re-evaluated if you know of any comps
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| Posted 7/27/12 7:05 PM |
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Re: Refinancing and appraisal- did this happen to anyone else?
Posted by JandJ1224
Are you familiar w comps. Maybe appraisal can be re-evaluated if you know of any comps
Yes, I would review the report and see if you agree with the selected comps. Doing an appraisal (as an appraiser), or a market analysis (as a real estate agent), is a pretty inexact science. We use data, but there is some subjectivity involved in what comparable sales are selected and how adjustments are made (given that no two homes are exactly identical).
I have helped some people, including people on here, successfully challenge appraisals. Some lenders are using appraisers who are not local and do not select the best comps. Usually, the bank will give you instructions for how to challenge the appraisal (by submitting your own comps). A real estate agent will usually help you with this as a complimentary service -- it doesn't take a huge amount of time, but more importantly, I do it because it helps me make contacts/build relationships for the future.
If the appraisal is accurate in terms of value, then at least you will still come out ahead in terms of monthly payment, and the pmi can always be removed down the road.
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| Posted 7/28/12 8:37 AM |
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VickiC
Rocking the party
Member since 5/05 4937 total posts
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Vicki
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Re: Refinancing and appraisal- did this happen to anyone else?
Another thing to think about in reference to HARP loans is that if you didn't have PMI before, you might not need it now.
We are currently refinacing and qualify under HARP, and because we didn't have PMI before, we don't need it now. Something to look into & ask about.
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| Posted 7/30/12 2:21 PM |
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Blu-ize
Plan B is Now Plan A
Member since 7/05 32475 total posts
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Susan
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Re: Refinancing and appraisal- did this happen to anyone else?
We refi'd under Harp. We paid 1/8th pt higher but no appraisal and streamlined underwriting.
If your loan is owned by Fannie or Freddie you can qualify.
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| Posted 7/30/12 3:56 PM |
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cloddy
Holiday 2011 photo
Member since 8/05 8088 total posts
Name:
Kristen
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Re: Refinancing and appraisal- did this happen to anyone else?
Posted by MrsRapz
not sure if you're able to, but another alternative is a HARP refi - you get a slightly higher rate, but no appraisal is needed. it *may* be worth it since, as PP said, mortgage interest is deductable but PMI is not.
good luck!
This is what we're doing
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| Posted 7/31/12 7:26 PM |
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