The word “refinance” often feels like it is paired with a negative life experience. Community Choice is here to tell you the truth about refinancing debt is, that it is rarely a scary or bad thing. They have seen, in this year of uncertainty, that refinancing has shown to be a great opportunity to provide your family with some extra cash and security.
Refinancing is a verb; it is an action often taken to reduce your interest rate while also reducing your overall costs of living your best life. Also contrary to popular belief, a refinance is not limited to just your home mortgage. True, that is often your largest loan and therefore where you can gain the most savings over time, but refinancing is open to many of the loans you will have over the course of your life.
Does it make sense to refinance my mortgage now?
This is a very big question and there are many resources out there to help you answer this very important and complicated question. However, there are a few rules of thumb when considering a home mortgage refinance. A few questions to ask yourself:
- How long will I be staying in this house?
- What kind of home expenses might I have in the next few years?
- How much equity do I have in the house?
- Will an appraisal impact my PMI?
Community Choice’s VP of Mortgage Lending, Dave Jordan explains that despite COVID-19, their team has been helping homeowners across the state. “We have been able to help hundreds of people improve their mortgage situation,” Jordan said. “Either by affordably moving to that dream home, improving household cash flow, or shortening the time frame to become mortgage free.”
Refinancing is simple, you can get started easily in less than 60 seconds, and the Community Choice team will review your home, your equity, current rates, and get back with a proposed new mortgage rate. “We offer an extremely efficient, 95-percent contact free process with very low fees currently at historically low rates. Regardless of whether you are staying or moving, now is the time to review all of your mortgage options,” Jordan offered.
Wait. I can also refinance my auto loan?
Just like a home mortgage, an auto loan can be – and sometimes should be – refinanced! Josh Murphy, the VP of Retail Banking at Community Choice is clear, “If you’ve purchased your car in the last two to three years, we recommend looking at refinancing your auto loan because there are so many variables that could have changed. Your credit score may have gone up, you may be able to lower your payments, or you could even consolidate other debt into the equity you have in your car.”
Unlike mortgages, there are absolutely, positively, no costs or fees to refinance and move your auto loan from the current lender to Community Choice. The move may not only reduce your monthly payments, but you can also take a three-month break from making any car payments! With the holidays rapidly approaching, a little extra cash in your pocket could be a good thing. A unique bonus is available if you also set up direct deposit: you can get a relationship discount of 0.25%. It is as simple as telling their team you want to move your loan and how much is left to pay it off. They take care of the rest!
Forget my loans; I have some credit card debt with crazy high interest!
According to Motley Fool the average American carries $6,194 in credit card balances
from month-to-month. Couple that with interest rates ranging from 14.52-percent all the way up to 17.89-percect, credit cards often put a strain on finances, especially this time of year. “Anyone who brings balances to a card with Community Choice gets to take advantage of our zero-fee balance transfer, currently offered at 4.99-percent rate on the balance transfer for the first ten billing cycles,” said Karen Gantz, VP of Cards / Online Services, at Community Choice. “Most banks don’t offer this type of a program, but for Community Choice, it made sense to provide this great program.” Starting your balance transfer is simple. You submit your information, card balances, and they take care of the rest.
The truth about refinancing is it’s not a bad thing. In fact, it is a great tool to help you add more cash to your budget while not costing you much in the process; oftentimes saving yourself money in the long run. Get started today. If you are not sure which approach makes sense for you, their UNbanking team is ready to discuss your current situation and find the perfect solution for you.
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This post is part of a series of posts from Community Choice Credit Union
Life Happens. How to Pay For All of Life’s Events
Is Your Kid Headed Off to College this Fall?
What to Consider When You Buy a Car
