On Your Side: Is it the right time to refinance your home mortgage?

Buying or refinancing a home, there could be a lot of options when searching for the best rates. After seeing home mortgage rates climb to just under 8% about a year ago, they are starting to fall. Chris Bryan is live in our newsroom with how those numbers are a good sign for a lot of people. Chris? Yeah, good evening, Lee. Freddie Mac released their market survey of the 30 and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages. Now, Freddie Mac is showing that that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage held steady from last week at 6.35%. However, that 15-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped from 5.51% to 5.47%. Now, these numbers being nearly a point lower than this time last year is giving homeowners some options. The benefits of refinancing means with a lower interest rate, a lower monthly payment, a shorter payoff term, or even eliminating that private mortgage insurance. Inflation and savings rates being at an all-time low, people are just really struggling, so it may be a situation where they need to get some equity out of their home to simply refinance. Jamie Dressler, a mortgage lending supervisor with Arvest Bank, says homeowners looking to refinance should talk with their advisors when it comes to options. The first things you need to do, regardless if you're thinking of refinancing next week or 12 months from now, is go ahead and have that conversation with your trusted lending partner as quickly as possible just so you can create a strategy. Everyone's going to have a different strategy. Everyone's situation is unique. Mortgage experts say even a 1% lower rate can save you hundreds of dollars. It's going to cost $2,400 to refinance, but you can save $200 a month by doing so. You will have paid for that in the next 12 months. There's even an option to buy down points when you refinance. You know, what are those angles? Are you planning to keep that home for the foreseeable future? If rates happen to drop to 5.5% next year, are you one that's going to want to jump ship and refinance again? Pamela Hernandez with the Better Business Bureau says there are some things to consider when looking at refinancing. Starting with your original lender is a great place if you're thinking about refinancing, but it can be wise to shop around to see if you can get a better deal on the closing costs or an interest rate. But it's important to understand that it's much like applying for your original mortgage. They're going to pull your credit and that can have an impact on your credit score. If you are looking at refinancing or not, the BBB says it's important to know where you stand. It's a good idea to check your credit report on a regular basis regardless of whether you're going to refinance your house. But it's certainly important to understand before you go in and talk to a lender what's out there so there won't be any surprises. You can be a target of a scammer. Be on the lookout for potential scams. Much like when you got that first mortgage, you may get unsolicited mail about home warranties or other services. Even if you don't think now is the right time for you, you can still be prepared. If you are looking to buy, if you do think that you're going to refinance, go ahead. Get with that trusted advisor. Shop around. You know, make sure that you are getting the best advice for you and your family. Now, there is one thing to keep in mind when you're refinancing your home. You will have closing costs associated with that. Freddie Mac says it's important to budget around five thousand dollars for those closing costs. That will be anywhere from appraisal fees to, once again, credit report fees. Any of those that you normally would have with a standard home mortgage. In the newsroom, Chris Bryant, KY3 News.