Have you looked in your mailbox yet? Chances are you may have received a letter with an offer for money! Or some type of special offer for financing – there are lots of those in the mail lately. More than likely the offer is an ad for a refinance. Frequently the letters look very official and may make you think you need to do something immediately.
Sometimes the letter says something like “report of available funds” or “you qualify for a mortgage insurance premium reduction”. They may list your name, address and other information that makes it look like it’s from your mortgage company or may even look like it’s from the IRS. More than likely it’s a ad from another lender. A lot of this information is public information and available for anyone to view.
So what should you do if you receive mail like this? You have a few options – ignore it (I usually do this!!), report it (some people feel that advertising that looks like a government document is deceptive and you can complain to the Better Business Bureau) or research your options. If you think you could save money by refinancing, call your loan officer and talk to them. Do some research to see where interest rates are and if you could lower your payment. Maybe you were thinking about remodeling your home or you have a 2nd mortgage. Does it make sense to look into c combining those into one mortgage. Maybe you have some debt you want to pay off. These are all reasons to talk to your loan officer and see what makes sense for you.
When I get calls from clients about letters they receive, we talk about options and discuss what their plans are. For some it makes sense to refinance, for others, it may not. One question you want to ask yourself is how long do you plan to keep your home? If it’s not for very long, think twice about refinancing as it costs money and usually people roll closing costs into their mortgage. Make sure you will recoup the savings before you would sell.
So why do lenders send out letters like this? Truly they are just advertisements intended to get more business. Your financial data is sold legally and bought by lenders to try and increase their business. Most of the time you are better off contacting your loan officer that helped you purchase your home or ask for referrals. Talk to your friends and family and see who they use for a lender. If you get a letter from someone that you do not know, you want to verify the information you were sent and definitely compare rates and fees with other lenders.
Interest rates are great – but increasing a bit with changes going on in our country. If you are thinking about refinancing and have not done anything yet, you may want to contact your loan officer sooner than later. Rates are slowly starting to increase and you don’t want to miss out!!
Leslie Vanderwerf, NMLS ID#335509, Cross Country Mortgage LLC, An Equal Housing Lender, NMLS#3029 – Email – Website
