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silverfox
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refinance my home


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I bought a home 3 years ago on an ARM. I had to qualify using what I was told was a stated income loan, due to my self employed status. I need to refinance now to get out before it adjusts - but according to the news there are no more stated income loans. What should I do?

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jaywarnre
Newcomer

Hello,
There are a couple of things you can do..First you need to figure out if in you're area stated income loans are still available and if so, you need to see if it will actually make financial sense to refinance right now..You might want to check out http://www.consumerfinancetips.com/ as it has thousands of tips on this from experts...

Last edited by jaywarnre at 2009-07-26 16:09:43

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Steve Heideman
FiLife Contributor

Don't assume it is going up! I have an adjustable rate mortgage. My loan is going to adjust downward in August because the index it is based on has gone down sharply since I took it out. This is due to the rate cuts by the federal reserve and the stabilization of interest rate spreads. To see if this is the case for you, you will need your mortgage note or deed of trust (depending on what part of the country you live in). On that, you will need to find:
1) The index
2) The margin
3) The rate caps

Once you know what the index is (it is usually the LIBOR these days) you can find the index quote at our big sister, The Wall St. Journal
You add that index to your margin and that is your adjusted interest rate--almost. There are things called caps that set limits on how much your interest rate can adjust. I will be discussing caps in a later post.

Also, even if you are self employed, you may not have needed a stated income loan. The unfortunate truth is that many loan officers for banks, lenders and brokerages do not know how to read income taxes. Even if you take substantial deductions, there are certain add backs that can give you enough Adjusted Gross Income to qualify.

Getting to your question about stated income loans--they do still exist. The rates are quite a bit higher than they used to be due to the readjusted risk premium placed on stated income. This means that even if you find a stated income loan, it still may not make financial sense to refinance. Even if your rate does adjust upward, you still may have a lower rate than a new stated income loan.

"Personal financial situations are like snowflakes"... No two are the same. Therefore, it is important to find a qualified, competent professional to help you with your analysis. There is a group of mortgage professionals called Upfront Mortgage Brokers who do business differently than the rest of the industry. I was a two term President of the organization.We were founded for consumer advocacy and, to my knowledge, we are the only non-profit consumer advocacy group in the mortgage industry.

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