Mortgage Blog

Recently I completed a few 15 yr fixed rental refinance.
I think there are various reasons:

1)For the last a few years, borrowers did the loan with
30 yr fixed so that they can have maximize capacity
for the purchase. When they found that it is hard to
buy more properties, they would like to have 15 fixed
rate, which is still lower than their 30 yr fixed rate,
so that they can payoff the mortgage fast.

2)Some borrowers wants to cash-out some money for future
investment. Either to purchase more property, or
to invest the money into stock market.

3)For certain areas, the property values were "under-water"
for a long time. And their rate of 30 yr fixed is above 5%,
and refinance to a 15 yr fixed program is very wise
and good option.

To help my clients to have a better idea about the 15
yr fixed rate trend, here are a few of the cases of the rates
scenario:
1)Closed one loan around July 24 with rate 3.625% for 170k
rental loan.
2)In August, Closed one loan of 300k primary with 15 yr fixed
3.25% around August 14. Closed another of 240k with rate of 3.5%
for primary around August 26.
3)Earlier Oct, closed one 360k rental loan with rate 3.625%.
This was a cash-out loan.
4)In Nov, closed two primary loans with 3.125%; one with 3.25%.
5)Will close a few rental refi with 4% this month.

If you review the 10 Yr Note chart, the best time to lock the
rate around Sep 15th to Nov 15t; or before August 15.
And the current level is almost the highest in the past two
years.

So some rates might be gone forever, like 15 yr fixed 3.125%
primary; 15 yr fixed 3.625% for the rental. If you have the
same need, talk to a professional to see the best rate
you can get.