As the federal government contemplates increasing
home-financing rates, now is the best time to refinance your home. There's a
program the government created in the past few years called the Home
Affordability Refinance Plan, commonly referred to as HARP, which enables
Americans to save big on refinancing. It provides you the opportunity to
refinance at surprisingly low rates, which could reduce your monthly payments.
The average reduction was a savings of about 33% last year. On a $200,000 loan,
that translates to an average savings of $4,100 in the first year. And with the
low rates, 39% of homeowners were actually able to shorten their loan terms as
well.
Homeowners are becoming increasingly savvy, and many are
surprised to learn how much they're able to save on their mortgage while
refinancing. The program started in March of 2009, but is set to expire at the
end of December 2015, so it's vital to act fast.
