Greg Vogel of American Financing Corporation clears up widespread confusion in the complex arena of home refinancing. By separating the facts from the fiction, Greg and American Financing provide the tools to help their clients increase their cash flow and improve their quality of life.
“It’s a myth that you need a 1% drop in your interest rate to benefit from a refinance,” according to Greg Vogel, Senior Mortgage Consultant with American Financing Corporation. “A skillful financial plan can give you an effective interest rate that is substantially lower than the actual rate on your mortgage. By looking at the ‘big picture’ and taking all of your debt into consideration, we can get you into a better financial position.”
Vogel provides examples to illustrate. “In one scenario, you might weigh a 15-year versus a 30-year refinance. The 15-year loan typically offers a slightly lower interest rate, but with larger monthly payments. A client may want to pay off that loan early — but what happens if he loses his job or is hit by some other financial catastrophe? Then the client is stuck with that higher monthly payment. In this case, we advise the client to go with a 30-year loan, but to pay the extra amount (that would have been budgeted for the larger monthly payment on a 15-year loan) to apply toward principal. So instead of struggling to pay off a higher-payment loan in 15 years, he can comfortably do so in approximately 16 years and 2 months — and, over the entire life of the loan, he has effectively lowered his interest rate by paying off early.”
“You can always make a smaller payment bigger,” counsels Vogel, “but you cannot make a bigger payment smaller. And if you set up these principal-lowering payments to happen automatically, you won’t tend to think about changing that payment to spend the money on other things.”
“In another situation,” continues Vogel, “a client might want to use equity to pay off a car loan that has four years remaining. What we might advise instead is to do a mortgage refinance, but use the monthly savings shrewdly. Let’s say the client saves $500 a month by refinancing. If he uses a portion of that savings to pay down the principal on the car loan — the car will be paid off much more quickly than four years. Plus, the homeowner will have a little extra cash each month and a lower monthly mortgage payment!”
Those with less-than-stellar credit need not feel left out. “With FHAs [Federal Housing Administration–insured loans],” Vogel explains, “the lending guidelines are a bit more relaxed. The debt ratio can be a little bit higher, the credit scores a little bit lower — and yet, we can still get our clients some amazing interest rates.”
“I’ve been in finance for more than a decade, and we like to keep things really simple,” Vogel concludes. “Everyone’s financial situation is different. But even folks who don’t make a whole lot of money can have really good quality of life with the right planning. We help them to get into a better financial position, but not only with the mortgage. We stress a simple truth: your financial circumstance is not about how much money you make — it’s about how much money you spend.”
American Financing Corporation, based in Aurora, Colorado, has been a leader in direct mortgage banking since 1999, offering competitive rates and superior service. Our experienced team of mortgage consultants listens to clients’ unique situations and discusses their goals to arrive at the best decision to meet their refinancing or purchasing needs. American Financing can assist with refinancing needs in nearly every state! We welcome walk-in clients at our corporate headquarters at 3151 South Vaughn Way, Suite 100, Aurora, CO 80014. You can also visit http://www.americanfinancing.net/contact.php on the Web to send us a message via the Internet or to find the contact phone number for your state. Be sure to follow American Financing on social media, including Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/americanfinancing), Twitter (http://twitter.com/afcmortgages), and LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/company/american-financing).