Paperwork

One pile of signed documents later, my refinancing is in the works and pretty much out of my hands. It sounds like it may be around a month before everything goes through, however, with documents coming from a few sources and a backlog in the underwriting department. It's a little exhilarating, but there's some anxiety about possible kinks along the way, too.


A bit less than $80,000 is a "small" amount on a home loan. Okay, I knew that logically, but it's still strange to hear, given that is't feels like a lot of money. Similarly, I apparently have a "lot" of equity built up, the last county appraisal for tax purposes being around $160,000.
I apparently have some of the best credit scores this particular mortgage adviser has ever seen (and a little research shows she started in 1970). Debt is bad, kiddies, pay your bills on time. This appears to be a factor in my not needing to get a new appraisal done (which is probably good considering the half-done repair project).
Most visibly, I stand to save right around $130 a month on payments. Comparing the amount paid over the life of the loans, and factoring in a very rough estimate of the total I've put into my current mortgage over the last 5.5 years, I stand to save at least $10,000 over the long run, probably more. The lower monthly payment makes it easier to pay extra, too. If I wrote checks for the same amount I do now toward this new loan every month (and let's face it, I probably won't go that far), I'd pay off the new loan in about 15 years (instead of the 20-ish for the current one).
"Points are Evil" is not always truth. I've read that some places, and it's usually based on generalizations. Paying points can be good overall if you're not planning to move/refinance for a while. In this case, the break even point is somewhere around 17 months. As long as I keep this mortgage for at least that long, paying a point is worth getting a lower interest rate. I'm willing to bet on that right now.
The mortgage adviser said a lot of people drag their feet and she was a little surprised that I got back to her the next day. She also said a lot of people she's seen are refinancing $300,000+ mortgages for $30-$40 savings on their monthly payment and that some people are holding out for rates to go lower while she doesn't think they'll get to that point.