Five years ago, you bought a house for $151,000, with a down payment of $30,000, which meant you took out a loan for $121,000. Your interest rate was 5.75% fixed. You would like to pay more on your loan. You check your bank statement and find the following information:
Escrow payment
$211.13
Principle and Interest payment
$706.12
Total Payment
$917.25
Current Loan Balance
$112,242.47
It might be possible to pay the current balance off in 20 years if you refinanced the loan at a lower interest rate. The interest rate that you qualify for will depend, in part, on your credit rating. Identify the highest interest rate you could refinance at in order to do this and determine the interest rate that would require a monthly total payment that is less than your current total payment. Also, refinancing costs you $2000 up-front in closing costs.
Explain whether it is more or less reasonable to consider refinancing your loan. In order to answer this, you need to look at different interest rates. Know that if you refinance, your minimum monthly payments will be based on a 30-year loan (though you still want to be done in 20 years). Also, refinancing costs you a couple of thousand dollars up front in closing costs.
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