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Your Best Interest in Mind

With the housing inventory so low and the current state of, well, everything so uncertain, now may be the time to consider refinancing your home mortgage. Brightwire will carefully review your loan scenario and current mortgage rate to determine if and how you would benefit from refinancing. Contact us to set up a refinance mortgage consultation today.

Top 3 Reasons to Refinance

Refinancing Step 1

Lower Your Monthly Payment

Refinancing to a lower rate means paying less interest for the rest of your mortgage term. This could potentially save you hundreds of dollars per month, giving you more financial security and cash flow. This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s not as cut-and-dry as it seems when you factor in closing costs. If you are looking to refinance your NJ mortgage, Brightwire can help you calculate your break-even point and if now is the right time to refinance. If it doesn’t make sense to refinance now, we can help determine the threshold interest rate where refinancing would be beneficial and set an interest rate alert for your exact refinance scenario.

Refinancing Step 2

Get Cash Out

Looking to make some home improvements, pay down credit cards, pay for college tuition or student loans, or pay off higher interest debts? Do you need to buy out your ex-spouse after a recent divorce?

Refinancing Step 3

Pay Off Your Mortgage Faster

Reducing your loan term will help you pay off your mortgage sooner, which means that you will pay less in total interest. Eliminating mortgage debt can help you reach your financial goals quicker:

  •      • Retire or meet your retirement objectives earlier
  •      • Free up money for traveling
  •      • Peace of mind and more financial security

Why New Jersey Homeowners Refinance with Brightwire

At Brightwire, we help New Jersey homeowners evaluate their refinance options so they can make informed decisions based on their timeline and goals.

Mortgage Options That Fit Your Refinance Goals

With access to 25+ wholesale lending partners, we can compare a wide range of refinance options instead of offering a single loan product or products from a single lender.

By offering a wide range of flexible loan options, Brightwire is an excellent mortgage broker for self-employed borrowers, borrowers with 3 or more real estate properties, and clients that have received a mortgage denial from a bank or credit union.

Clear Answers. No Pressure.

Many homeowners come to us after speaking with lenders who focused more on selling a refinance than explaining whether it actually made sense.

We often talk our clients out of refinancing because they are better off with their current loan, taking a 401k or pension loan, borrowing funds on their existing home equity line of credit, or postponing their home improvement project until they receive their annual bonus.

Additionally, if clients bring us the other offers that they have received for refinancing, we are willing to review them and confirm if another company has a better product or a lower cost option.

Organized Process. Experienced Team.

Our team follows proprietary internal processes designed to help keep transactions moving and help catch problems early before they turn into bigger issues. We work with New Jersey homeowners every day and understand how to keep refinance transactions organized and on track.

At Brightwire, we focus on keeping the refinance process efficient and straightforward.

FAQs

What are the reasons to refinance?

There are four main reasons to refinance:

  • Obtain cash-out of the property. This is done by borrowing a larger amount on the new loan, so that after paying off the existing loan, there are extra funds left over that are provided to you as the borrower.
  • Reduce the interest rate or loan term. For example, reducing the rate from 8% to 6%, or changing the loan term from 28 years remaining to 15 years remaining would be a useful refinance.
  • Change the loan product / type. This typically involves moving from an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) to a Fixed Rate Mortgage. Another example would be to refinance from a loan that has matured or ballooned into a new loan.
  • Change the ownership of the property. A few examples would be if two individuals are getting divorced, or if one partner is buying out another on an investment property.

The timing for a refinance depends on which of the reasons above that you are refinancing. For example, the second reason for refinancing is to reduce the interest rate or loan term. If market rates are higher than your current interest rate, now is not the time to refinance.

Another example might be reason #4 above - changing ownership of the property. In this case, the refinance might be court-ordered. When there is a strict timeline in place, then a borrower may not have a choice about refinancing regardless of the interest rates.

In a more common scenario, a borrower wants to know if 0.5% or 0.75% is enough of an interest rate drop to make a refinance worthwhile. In this case, the answer will depend on the loan amount, closing costs, amount of points and lender fees, any lender credits, the amount of time left to pay on the current loan, the term of the new loan (how many years), and most importantly the future expectation about mortgage rates.

If trying to time your refinance with the market feels overwhelming, consider calling or booking a phone consultation with Brightwire Loans to discuss your current situation. We will provide highly personalized advice with a mathematical analysis to support our conclusion.

All costs for a mortgage refinance loan are static (meaning non-changing), except for two items - title insurance and discount points. These two items vary with the loan amount being borrowed.

Here is a quick table that summarizes the estimated closing costs for a refinance:

Loan AmountClosing Costs
$100,000$2,500
$150,000$2,650
$200,000$2,800
$250,000$2,950
$300,000$3,100
$350,000$3,250
$400,000$3,400
$450,000$3,550
$500,000$3,700
$550,000$3,850
$600,000$4,000
$650,000$4,150
$700,000$4,300
$750,000$4,450
$800,000$4,600
$850,000$4,750
$900,000$4,900
$950,000$5,050
$1,000,000$5,200
$1,050,000$5,350
$1,100,000$5,500
$1,150,000$5,650
$1,200,000$5,800
$1,250,000$5,950

For a more accurate estimate based on your exact refinance scenario, we recommend speaking to an experienced mortgage broker like Brightwire.

Most banks, credit unions, and direct lenders take 45 - 90 days to complete a mortgage refinance loan application.

Brightwire Loans' brand promise is to complete your mortgage refinance in 20 calendar days or less.

Appraisals are typically required when the borrower will be receiving cash-out (more than either 1% of the loan amount or $2,500 depending on the loan program).

Appraisals are sometimes required for no-cash out refinances.

Appraisals are typically NOT required for home equity loans and/or home equity lines of credit with a loan amount less than $300,000.

Typically, a credit score of 600 or higher is needed for an FHA refinance loan or VA cash-out refinance. For non cash-out refinances, most borrowers have the option to refinance regardless of their credit score.

Conventional mortgage loans refinances typically require a 620 or higher credit score.

Non-Traditional mortgage loan programs may permit the borrower to refinance, regardless of their credit score.

Home equity loans and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) typically require a 640 minimum credit score.

If you purchased a primary residence or second home in New Jersey, then your loan will not include a prepayment penalty. This means that you can refinance anytime that you would like.

If you purchased an investment property, then please ask your NJ home loan officer to review your mortgage note document signed at your purchase closing. If a prepayment penalty was part of your agreement, then it may make it cost prohibitive (not worthwhile) to refinance right away.

The documents needed for a refinance are similar to those required for a purchase. You will need to provide proof of income, assets, credit and debt as well as proof of on-time mortgage payments.

If you are applying for a no cash-out refinance for a VA home loan or FHA home loan, there may be special loan programs available that do not require any proof of income, assets, credit or debt. With these loan types, an on-time payment history of your existing mortgage may be the only documentation required.