The first issue that comes up with a mortgage refinance that is more harmful than helpful is when it falls short of the break-even point.  Refinancing mortgage costs money in the form of the closing costs, if it takes longer to recoup these costs with monthly payment savings than a borrower intends to hold the mortgage, a refinance would be an unwise decision.  The break even mortgage calculator can assess the time frame to recoup the costs with only few data points.  Once the mortgage calculator determines the amount of the monthly savings and the time it will take to use these monthly savings to offset the refinance costs, the borrower can determine if the loan in question is more harmful than helpful.

Costs can be measured by the monthly savings alone.  In many refinance transactions the borrowers do not fully evaluate the term remaining on their existing loan compared with the term on the new loan.  If a borrower refinances a 30 year mortgage that has been open for 6 years into a new mortgage loan that has a term of 30 years it will be necessary to weigh the additional cost from the extended term of the new loan versus the remaining term of the existing home loan.  If the borrower considers a loan in these terms, it is very important that the mortgage break even analysis calculator be used to compare the remaining terms on the two loans.  Extending the term for a small drop in payment will make the total costs excessive over the life of the loan and render this type of refinance a bad idea.

A final consideration to make sure a new mortgage refinance does not end up being a mistake is in choosing the loan type.  Numerous refinances in the past five years were mortgages that were refinanced into an adjustable rate mortgage.  Adjustable rate mortgages have the advantage over fixed rate loans by carrying a lower start rate.  However, that rate is generally a teaser rate and will rise if rates stay the same or go up once the introductory period ends.  To make sure this is the transaction a borrower believes is best, the adjustable rate mortgage calculator and adjustable rate mortgage and fixed rate mortgage comparison calculator should be used.  The adjustable rate mortgage calculator will calculate the monthly payment and allow the user to calculate the impact of future rate changes on the monthly payment.  The mortgage comparison calculator will calculate the cost, interest rates and monthly payments differences between the two programs.  Ignoring the possibility of rate changes when investigating the merits of an adjustable rate mortgage can turn a good refinance into harmful refinance when rates rise and the monthly mortgage payment becomes untenable.

To make sure refinancing it is a beneficial strategy and a cost effective transaction, a borrower may choose to use more than one mortgage calculator.  A short term payment break for much larger long term costs may end in a regretful decision.

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