A debt consolidation refinance is when a borrower uses the equity in his/her house to consolidate some or all of their existing debt by refinancing their current mortgage.
Debt consolidation through refinancing can be a smart financial move. Mortgage interest is tax deductible so consolidating debt with non-deductible interest can be advantageous. Also, rates on mortgages are generally much lower than interest rates on credit cards or auto loans.
FHA insured mortgage rules allow a debt consolidation refinance loan amount to be up to 95% of the market value of your home under certain circumstances.
By using the equity in your home to pay down high interest credit cards you can possibly save your family hundreds of dollars per month. You also benifit by being able to deduct your mortgage interest. You should seek the advice of a mortgage broker before proceeding with your refinance to ensure you are matched to the right loan program.
Many times by consolidating debt through a refinance a borrower is able to not only save money from their total monthly expenses but they are able to reduce their mortgage rate and term also. Such as changing from a 30 year to a 20 year mortgage or a 20 year to a 15 year mortgage. This can not only save a lot of money in mortgage interest by cutting years off of your mortgage but it can many times save money monthly still.
Remember that the interest one pays on their mortgage is generally tax deductible while the interest on your personal debt is not. This is a great item to keep in mind when looking to do a debt consolidation refinance.
When considering a debt consolidation refinance you should look at your short and long term financial goals. Paying high interest bearing credit accounts with your mortgage will often times save you thousands over time.
When analysing the benefits of a debt consolidation refinance you should factor in the amount of time and money it will take you to pay off those credit accounts with your current payment schedule.
If you are currently making the minumum credit card payments, then it may take you several years to pay them off. This is considering that you continue to make those same minimum paymments throughout the life of the debt. If you were to do a debt consolidation, you could have that debt paid off within a matter of weeks.
Sometimes a debt consolidation refinance may cause your total mortgage payment to increase. This is because you will be borrowing more money, to pay off the debt. Don't worry though, because if you are paying $400 in credit card debt every month and your mortgage payments increase by $200. You will still be saving $200 every month!
Debt consolidation refinancing is the practice of moving short-term debt, into a home refinance loan. At closing any debts that have been chosen and listed will be paid from funds, above what is necessary to pay off the original mortgage balance.
When a homeowner applies for a mortgage, the lender bank evaluates the applicant's repayment capability by dividing the total monthly obligation by his income. The result of the Debt-to-Income Ratio qualifies/disqualifies the applicant. When a homeowner applies for a Debt-Consolidation loan, the payments for the debts to be paid off at closing are not included in the DTI Ratio.
While some say that there is good debt and bad, it could be argued whether any debt could really be considered "good". One thing is fairly certain, unsecured consumer debt and credit card debt in particular is the worst kind of debt one can take on. There are usually strong financial benefits to consolidating such debt into your home mortgage.
A debt consolidation home refinance can help borrowers improve their monthly cash flow. However, borrowers often payoff the balances on their high interest debt only to max out the balances once again which means spending habits need to be changed for this to be effective.
Debt consolidation can simply be from a number of unsecured loans into another unsecured loan, but more often it involves a secured loan against an asset that serves as collateral, most commonly a house.