Refinancing a home is very difficult right now

[Brian Elfert]

There are so many people refinancing right now that it is difficult for anyone who hasn't already started the process. I went to Bankrate.com on Friday to check mortgage rates. They had a huge warning that rates are extremely high due to the crush of business. It appears a lot of mortgage brokers are posting high rates to discourage new business. There were only a few rates listed on Bankrate.com and they were all in the 5% range. The rest of the brokers had no rates listed. Quicken Loans was advertising 4% on Friday which seemed way high to me.

I started a refinance three or four weeks ago, but it appears I am going to have to cancel as I am finishing up renovating my basement and I can't get the appraisal done in time to close the mortgage within the 45 day rate lock. I am almost certain I can get a lower rate now. They may not care about saving the deal as they have so much business. (The basement project will have taken three more weeks than I thought it would.)

I am a member of Penfed credit union and contacted them Friday as they advertise a 3% rate with no points. I called and was on hold for about 20 to 30 minutes and then a recording said they couldn't take my call and hung up. I signed up online to be contacted and someone called me back an hour or two later and all he did was confirm my interest in a refinance and said a loan officer would call me back. Still waiting. All I want to do to start is confirm if the 3% rate is real. I would need to cancel my other loan before I can start a new one.

[Jim Becker]

I'm not surprised.

PenFed is never "over staffed" in my experience, but at least they are a great institution do do business with. Hopefully, they will be able to help you in a reasonable time period.

[Brian Elfert]

This isn't about Penfed in particular. All mortgage companies are crushed right now.

[Doug Dawson]

This isn't about Penfed in particular. All mortgage companies are crushed right now.

Try going there in person. This would apply to any such ginormous transaction. That way you're not just another lookyloo electron.

[John Goodin]

Box Home Loans offers rates online without providing any personal information. They tend to be extremely competitive. I have used them about five or six times with varying degrees of customer satisfaction. All the loans have closed on time.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Rates and availability in NE Ohio - low and plentiful - both for new - refi - equity line & equity loan.

The key? If you've done your part & have a good history - you have no problems here in my area.

The dip in the market recently helped - not hurt - rates here.

Other than having a tar pit for a job market & weather that make Antarctica look like a tropical dream - NE Ohio is an above average place to be a home owner &/or investor.
I probably should keep my big mouth shut about that & not draw any attention to it.

[Jim Becker]

Try going there in person. This would apply to any such ginormous transaction. That way you're not just another lookyloo electron.

That would require a ... plane ticket ... PenFed is in the DC area.

[Doug Dawson]

That would require a ... plane ticket ... PenFed is in the DC area.

Yeah I know, but having dealt with them in the past they might have more spread than that? That said, there's nothing like a personal relationship with a local credit union branch, which was the nub of my advice.

DC is a nice place to visit, BTW, lots of stuff to do and see.

[Jim Becker]

DC is a nice place to visit, BTW, lots of stuff to do and see.

April 2009 to October 2017 when I retired, my "office" was in the DC area in Fairfax and I was in DC a lot because my customer was the US Government. I mostly saw a lot of traffic. LOL Fortunately, I was only heading there a few times a month!

[Doug Dawson]

April 2009 to October 2017 when I retired, my "office" was in the DC area in Fairfax and I was in DC a lot because my customer was the US Government. I mostly saw a lot of traffic. LOL Fortunately, I was only heading there a few times a month!

History. It's a shrine to American democracy. I don't know any way to describe it other than that I feel electricity running through my bones when I go there. I understand people becoming inured to it, but I hope I never lose that feeling. Kind of like my devotion to Texas.

[Brian Elfert]

My point is that every mortgage broker seems to be crushed right now. No call back from Penfed yet. My current mortgage company sent me an email out of the blue Sunday offering to refinance with a substantial credit towards closing costs. The loan officer called me on Sunday and gave me a rate that was substantially lower than the company I am currently working with. The current company I am working with said they could lower my rate based on what the rate is in a few week near closing.

[Derek Meyer]

I refinanced my home in December 2019 through Quicken Loans. We started the process on December 3rd and closed on January 3rd. Everything was conducted via email and phone, and they scheduled the appraisal which was only a week out.

I refinanced because Wells Fargo sold my mortgage to Specialized Loan Services (SLS) and they were terrible to deal with. They would start calling and sending notices before my payment was even due. Quicken Loans, by contrast, has been very easy to deal with. They did sell my mortgage to Fannie Mae, but they are still servicing it the same as before.

Derek