Have you purchased a home within the last 10 years and financed it with a great mortgage rate at the time—but have since watched the mortgage rates falling to all-time lows? Did you, as part of obtaining your current mortgage, pay Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) or FHA Mortgage Insurance Premiums (MIP) that are part of your payment each month? Is 30 Years too long to wait until your home is free and clear of a mortgage? If you answered YES to any of these questions, we may be able to save you money with today’s historically low interest rates or reduced terms!
What is the first step to see if refinancing is right for me?
Your first step is an easy one, and it is the same for everyone: simply visit your local Reliant branch or call our Member Service Center at 800-724-9282.
What happens next?
One of our Member Service Representatives will ask you for some information, which will be relayed to one of our Mortgage Loan experts. The Mortgage Loan expert will then reach out to you to learn about your goals and how Reliant can help you reach them. If you want to own your home mortgage-free in 15 years, we can show you the possibilities. If you want to reduce your mortgage payment to help in affordability, let us do the math.
What if I’m not quite ready or I just want to be kept better informed at this time?
Sure! We want to keep our members informed on current rates, so we provide a “Check Rates” tool to help you do just that. Click here to get started on a quick questionnaire about your potential mortgage, and we'll get you a quote in seconds!
Want Interest rates sent to you daily? Sign up for Rate Watch by clicking here. Set up your criteria that you used to Check Rates, provide an email address and how often you want an update, and we will send it to you. It’s that simple!
Reasons to Refinance
Curious about why refinancing might be the right plan? Check out our list of reasons why people come to us to refinance to see what might make sense for you. Just click the “Learn More” buttons for more details or ideas!
Scroll to the left to view the rest of the table.
| Reason to Refi | Description | More Info |
| Wedding Bells | When "what's yours is mine & what's mine is yours" becomes reality, it could help you lower your interest rate! | Learn More
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| Friends for Long | You bought a home with a friend, but would now like to remove him/her from the obligation or ownership of the home. | Learn More
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| Family Matters | When a relationship changes and you'd like to remove an absent, former spouse pursuant to divorce or separation agreement. | Learn More
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| Co-signors | Did you require a co-signor years ago who now wants to be removed? | Learn More
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| Fix, Repair, and Improve | Do you have some deferred maintenance that you need some cash to fix? | Learn More
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| Combine | Combine your first & second mortgages or your home equity loans into one affordable mortgage. | Learn More
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| Investor Cash Out | Use funds from a refinance to purchase an investment property. | Learn More
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| Consolidate | Use funds to consolidate consumer debt. | Learn More
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| Education Expenses | Get funds to provide for education for yourself or a dependent, or to pay off student debt. | Learn More
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| Time for a New Toy? | Get funds to buy that RV, boat, or snowmobile you've been eyeing. | Learn More
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| Vacation Home! | Use funds to provide for a vacation property, a home for a dependent, or a retirement dwelling. | Learn More
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| Time to Change Lenders? | Refinance as a means to change mortgage servicing companies, often choosing a local lender—like Reliant! | Learn More
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| Stability | Change from private financing, an ARM, balloon, or interest-only to a fixed-rate mortgage. | Learn More
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| Mortgage Insurance | Are you ready to remove monthly PMI or MIP? | Learn More |
Recently married? A great time to consider refinancing is after the vows of marriage have been said. Equity sharing and housing responsibilities are real. That being said, refinancing to add a spouse to the deed in itself may not be a primary reason to refinance—but if you can couple that with a reduced interest rate, changed terms, or cash out for consolidation, refinancing at this time is a great option to consider.
The reality of our times is that, for many people, two incomes are needed to make homeownership affordable. Friends and acquaintances often huddle together with grand ideas and long-term hopes, only to find that things change after they've signed on the dotted line of ownership. Refinancing can end that relationship in a more permanent fashion, as well as provide for a lower rate for the occupant homeowner.
A divorce can often lead to a refinance as a means of removing the former spouse from the note, mortgage and deed. A court-ordered refinance can come with an equity buy-out agreement in which a former spouse is entitled to a share of the equity. Wrapping up the transaction into a refinance can remove a former spouse, provide for an equity payout AND reduce an interest rate or change a term to provide for affordability to the remaining individual.
Many first-time home buyers require co-signors or co-mortgagors when they first purchase their homes. Parents and siblings are the #1 co-signors in America, and often they are asked to co-sign when mortgage underwriting concerns come up late in the process. Mom, dad, sister or brother don’t always want this to be a 30-year obligation for them, and refinancing can change all of that. Free your co-signor of his/her obligation at your earliest opportunity by refinancing!
Planning on putting in that in-ground pool? Looking at adding a garage, an addition or doing a kitchen remodel? Do you want to buy that lot next door? If your home currently has sufficient equity, you may be able to refinance with cash out to accomplish those improvements as well as change your mortgage term or interest rate to better meet your long-term needs.
Some homeowners want to combine their first mortgages with their home equity lines of credit (HELOC). Why refinance out of the home equity line? Because some homeowners worry that, down the road, the HELOC rate could jump a couple percent. Home equity lines of credit are great for unexpected expenses and short-term financing, but essentially, HELOCs are adjustable rate loans, and as such, they don’t offer long-term rate stability.
Divorces can often lead to a refinance as a means of removing the former spouse from the note, mortgage and deed. A Court-ordered refinance can come with equity buy-out agreements in which a former spouse is entitled to a share of the equity. Wrapping up the transaction into a refinance can remove a former spouse, provide for an equity payout AND reduce an interest rate or change a term to provide for affordability to the remaining individual.
Sometimes a homeowner will choose to take money out of the equity in his/her home to purchase another property. Often, it's to buy an investment property. Obtaining a mortgage specifically to buy an investment property can bring up unexpected mortgage underwriting issues. Interest rates and lending terms depend on how the financed house will be used. In addition, placing a mortgage on an investment property will always carry a higher interest rate, and often a lower term than on a primary residence. Refinancing the mortgage on the primary residence could remove these potential pitfalls.
When house prices were rising by as much as 10 percent or more each year, millions of borrowers used their homes’ equity to obtain cash-out beyond the value of their homes. Most of that is over now, but there are still great reasons to cash-out. Paying off credit cards, higher interest rate student loans and loans that were unsecured may be some of them. The tax advantages of converting consumer debt into housing debt may change tax return refunds.*
*Consult your tax advisor for complete details about tax implications of converting consumer debt into housing debt.
Private student loans can be expensive, they often have adjustable rates, and they can be tough for students to qualify for. Having a parent co-sign can make the qualification process easier, but then the parent is on the hook, too. Sometimes homeowners choose to refinance their homes with cash out, allowing them either to pay off their own student loan debt, or to provide funds for college for their children or dependents—and potentially make their monthly payments more affordable in the process! Mortgage payments, like education loan payments, can have tax benefits, so be sure to consult your tax advisor for further information.
Rates on boat or RV loans tend to be a bit higher than mortgage rates. Terms of 5-10 years are common. Taking cash out to reduce an interest rate, lower a term, consolidate some other loans AND purchase that long-awaited RV can help structure your financial life and get you what you deserve faster and less expensively.
This isn't technically a refi, but it is close. Mortgage-free homeowners sometimes get mortgages to put cash in their pockets. There are a lot of people who no longer have mortgages, but maybe they want to go to Florida, buy a second home with cash. So they cash out their first home and take the cash and go south—and since they don't need a financing contingency, they're in a better position to bargain.
As a primary reason to refinance, it’s not high on our list. But, when you couple it with any of the other reasons, it can tip the scales. Dealing with an experienced mortgage lender in your own area, like Reliant—especially when it comes time to discuss tax escrows, minimum payments and other options—can be a whole lot easier than dealing with a faraway lender. At Reliant, your NEW mortgage will be serviced locally!
Stability-hungry borrowers are ditching adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) and refinancing into fixed-rate loans. It's not because fixed-rate mortgages are available at better rates, but because they come with stable rates.
Balloon payment on a first or second mortgage on the horizon? Take advantage of today’s rates and gain stability by refinancing.
Did you purchase your home with seller financing? Often these loans contain risky features such as balloon payments or don’t contain provisions to escrow. Refinance with an established mortgage lender/servicer like Reliant to gain some stability—and some peace of mind!
Reduce the payment of Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) or FHA Mortgage Insurance Premiums (MIP) that are included in your monthly mortgage payment. A typical FHA mortgage opened over the last several years has a monthly MIP being paid of $150/month, which has the result of increasing the effective interest rate by 1.5%!*
For example: if your interest rate were 4.5%, once you added the mortgage insurance of 1.5%, your mortgage rate would effectively be 6.00%.
Now is a good time to reduce your interest rate and your PMI or MIP by refinancing.
*All rates listed are for illustrative purposes only.
