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Some
financial "gurus" have advised against this because you are turning
unsecured debt into secured debt. While this is basically true the fact
is that defaulted unsecured debt can be secured against real property
very quickly once the debtor is sued for it and a judgment is received.
Although
you are extending your debt by refinancing credit card debt into your
mortgage, you generally will be increaing your cash flow so you are not
going "backwards" each month.
If
you want to see even greater savings on a monthly basis for a fixed
period of time, ask us about using a minimum payment option loan to
consolidate your debts. This can provide you with enough cash to pay
off your debts while actually reducing your housing payment AND all of
your monthly payments.
You
should remember that the interest you pay with your mortgage is tax
deductible, where the credit card's interest payment is not.
Consolidating your debt using your equity can save your money even more.
Most
financial gurus don't recommend using the equity in your home to pay
off unsecured debt because if you do that, you won't need to buy their
program. Think about it. They are in business to sell you software,
subscriptions to their websites and books. The program they recommend
deals with cutting back on spending and devoting yourself to getting
out of debt in a long period of time. Sure it will work, but most
people don't have the discipline to not have cable, or not go out to
eat for 6 years. The one key to getting out of debt is to put yourself
in a position where you don't have to use your credit cards. Once you
stop spending on credit cards, the best way to pay them off is to
consolidate them into the lowest monthly payment possible. From that
point you need to take the savings and re-apply it towards your
existing debt and your mortgage. If you do this, you could be debt
free, including your mortgage, in a little as 5-7 years. I challange
any financial guru to find a quicker way to be completely debt free.
Contact Brenda Puckett at 678-367-3734 or a no obligation consultation.
If
you do choose to consolidate your credit card debt, remember to bring
your most recent balance statements with you to the closing (your
mortgage consultant will advise). This way when the lender's attorney
is making out the checks to the creditors, the numbers will be exact.
Consolidating
credit card debt into your mortgage can be prudent to lower your
monthly payments. You gain the advantage of paying down mortgage debt
that is tax deductible. However, if high credit card debt is an
indication that you are spending beyond your means, you must address
this issue to become financially sound.
Consolidating
credit car debt into your mortgage can save a homeowner hundreds and
sometimes even thousands of dollars per month by lowering their total
monthly obligations. When you consolidate credit cards into your
mortgage you also are able to lower your interest rates on those credit
cards which essentially saves you a lot of money but you are able to
write off the interest on your tax returns from your mortgage and you
can not do this with your credit cards.
If
you want to use a refinance loan to consolidate some of your debts,
you're going to have to borrow more than the actual amount remaining on
the loan that you're refinancing. This additional amount will be used
to pay off those debts that are being consolidated and will affect the
monthly payment of your refinanced loan. By doing this, however, you
can make your finances and outstanding debts much more manageable and
will likely become debt-free much faster.
A
mortgage agent can help you decide if refinancing credit card debt into
a mortgage is your best option. Using financial calculators available,
they can compare how long and how much it will cost you to pay off
credit card debt using your current monthly payments vs refinancing the
debt into a new mortgage. Very often the monthly and lifetime savings
is large.
You
can consolidate your credit card debt through use of your first
mortgage or by obtaining a second mortgage or a home equity line of
credit, also known as a HELOC. A HELOC works with the same basic
principals of a credit card. It is a revolving account that as you pay
the equity line down, you have that money available to you to use
again. With a second mortgage you simply have a set term (5 years, 10
years, 15 years, etc...) that you will pay on the loan for and when it
is paid off you are relinquished of your obligation to this debt and
the account closes. All three (1st mortgage, 2nd mortgage or HELOC) are
excellent choices for debt consolidation but you and your mortgager
broker will need to figure out which one makes the most sense for your
particular situation.
If
you have gotten buried in a hole with credit card debt it could be a
necessity to refinance your home and pay off your credit card debt. It
has been known to save thousands of dollars. On the other side of the
spectrum, if you only have 5 months left on a credit card bill it is
note wise decision to bury that into a mortgage.
In
order to decide if a debt consolidation is your best action, you should
figure what you are paying now and how that will translate in the
length of time it will take you to pay off those credit cards. You may
find that rolling those debts into your mortgage will save you
thousands of dollars in interest payments.
Remember
not to stop making regular payments towards credit card debts simply
because you are in the process of consolidating them. Defaults and late
payments can negatively impact your credit and jeopardize the
consolidation loan.
If
you are planning on selling your home in the near future, you may want
to rethink consolidating. You need to make sure that you have enough
equity to pay for realtor's commission and down payment or closing
costs on the new home.
When
deciding to refinance for debt consolidation you might want to consider
how long you will have to pay your credit cards if you are only making
the monthly minimums. This can take you much longer in most cases than
paying on a traditional 30 year fixed mortgage.
Another
option if you do not have enough equity in your home to pay off your
credit cards is to refinance to a pay option ARM. The money you can
save by making minimum payments on your mortgage can be applied to your
credit cards to help pay them down quicker.
During
most refinances you will be able to skip a month, or two, of your
mortgage payment. It would be a good idea to take some, or all, of that
payment and apply it to your credit card debt.
Remember, you have a three (business) day right of recission before you can receive the cash from your refinance.
If
your decide to consolidate credit card debt in the state of Texas you
must wait 12 days from the time of application to close on your cash
out loan, also Texas Cash-Out loans are limited to an 80% LTV (Loan to
Value). This law only applies to homestead properties and it may be
different if the property is a second home or investment property.
If
you refinance to pay off credit cards it is wise to have the limits on
the credit cards lowered to avoid the same situation you are
refinancing out of. Unless you have many cards open avoid closing the
accounts. If they have been open for a long time closing them could
negatively impact your credit.
If
you are paying the minimum payment on your maxed out credit cards every
month, it could take 15 to 22 years to pay off those cards.
Consolidating credit cards with higher rates, such as 16%, 18% or 21%,
into your refinanced mortgage with a rate of, say 6.25%, you could
dramatically decrease your total monthly payments.
The money you save every month could be used to pay off other credit cards or other loans quicker.
At that point, the extra money you have every month could be paid to
reduce the principal on your mortgage or you could refinance into a
shorter term loan, say 15 years, at a lower rate and pay off your home
much quicker.
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