Tools

Ask a Question
Start a Discussion
Close
Create an Email Alert

Alerts are a great way for you to stay up-to-date on things you care about. We will email you a list of the new items that match your criteria at a time of your choosing.

This alert is for the following:

Topic:
Should we refinance current home or buy a new ...

How often would you like the alert emailed?

Frequency:

Immediately Daily Weekly
Maximum 20 emails/day

Save

Cancel E-mail alerts
RSS
Send to del.icio.us
Send to StumbleUpon
Print page

Partner Tools

Views: 259
US
Virginia
Nearby States
- Alabama
- Alaska
- American Samoa
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Guam
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Puerto Rico
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virgin Islands
- Virginia
- Washington
- Washington D.C.
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Don't see it?

Find:
Fairfax
Nearby Cities
Don't see it?

Find:
ZIP Code
Nearby ZIP Codes
- 22030
- 22031
- 22032
- 22033
- 22034
- 22035
- 22036
- 22037
- 22038
Don't see it?

Find:

Should we refinance current home or buy a new home?

yujinnie
Contributions: 1

yujinnie

Contributions: 1

Q&A

:1

View full profile

We currently own a condo but with a plan to have a baby soon and given the current real estate market, we are considering buying a new home. Here is our dilema. We can refinance our current condo (from 6% to 4.895% APR) which will save us approx $400-500 per month but if we do this, the lender will most likely require us to stay in the current condo for at least a year before we can purchase a new home w/ owner occuplied loan-this means we can't buy a new home and take advantage of the current market price. Alternatively, we can keep our current 6% loan and buy a new townhome that will have plenty of space for us to have a child. This option is attractive since we can buy a house with a low price given the current market condition and will have a home that has enough space. What should we do?

Flag content

June 08 - Fairfax

RSS

Answers (3)

Jeff Thomas, "eLendingSolutions"
Contributions: 2

Jeff Thomas, "eLendingSolutions"

Contributions: 2

Q&A

:1
Disc

:1

View full profile

Rates have increased to the point that 4.875% would cost a lot of money. Some items to think about if planning to rent your condo out are:
1. What is the job stability for you and your husband?
2. Are you going back to work after having the baby?A. Dual income vs. single income in the future?
3. What is the desirability of the area of where your condo is located? City or urban?
4. Will the rent you receive cover your mortgage payment and condo fee?

Generally if the rent received won't cover your payment and condo fee it would be advisable to sell the condo and move the proceeds to the new place.

As always seek counsel from someone you trust.

Flag content

June 09

Gregorio Denny, "WeFixRates.Com"
Contributions: 3547

Gregorio Denny, "WeFixRates.Com"

Mortgage Lender

Lender rating

5.0/5.0

View ratings and reviews

Contributions: 3547

Q&A

:1361
Disc

:2136
Photos

:50

Zillow All-Star

Since January 2009

View full profile

You may be over-simplifying your situation so if I may offer a bit of clarification so you know exactly what you are facing.

"We can refinance our current condo (from 6% to 4.895% APR)"
This currently would cost a small fortune to do because it requires paying points. If you don't have at least 25% equity in your condo you can add an additional .75 points.

"the lender will most likely require us to stay in the current condo for at least a year before we can purchase a new home w/ owner occuplied loan-this means we can't buy a new home and take advantage of the current market price. "
That's not true, there is no such rule.

"Alternatively, we can keep our current 6% loan and buy a new townhome that will have plenty of space for us to have a child. This option is attractive since we can buy a house with a low price given the current market condition and will have a home that has enough space."
If you do that, you will need to have at least 30% equity in your current home or you will have to qualify for the payments on both of them. This won't be an issue if you make enough, just want you to be aware of this guideline.

"What should we do?"
First, make sure your rate quote for a refi is accurate at 4.875%APR, that's extremely low given the current market. If you do refi and keep it, make sure you can qualify for the new purchase. Speak to someone who completely understands your situation.

Best of luck.

Flag content

June 08

Michael Russell, "real estate mike"
Contributions: 1704

Michael Russell, "real estate mike"

Real Estate Agent

View my 3 listings

Contributions: 1704

Q&A

:1395
Disc

:294
Photos

:15

Zillow All-Star

Since May 2009

View full profile

Could you rent your condo out and buy what you want? Another option to obtain more space is to rent it. To get the townhouse you were planning on selling your condo? You could see what your condo is worth current market and how long they take to sell on average. Then you have a starting point.

Flag content

June 08

Have a question? Ask it here.

Most Active Fairfax Real Estate Agents

Judy Rudat

23 listings

Local Expert
George Saab

56 listings

3590 contributions
Casey Margenau

32 listings

506 contributions
Debbie Kent

10 listings

102 contributions
Donny Samson

7 listings

413 contributions

See more Fairfax real estate agents

Question Should we refinance current home or buy a new home?

Latest answer by Jeff Thomas
June 09

In Buying New Homes
3 Answers - 259 Views

See More

Current Mortgage Rates

Current Last Week

30 Year Fixed

15 Year Fixed

5/1 ARM

Get this widget

<div style="width:298px;height:123px;border:1px solid #adcfff;overflow:hidden;text-align:center;font-family:verdana,arial,sans-serif;font-size:8pt;line-height:13x;background-color:#eff3ff;letter-spacing:0;text-transform:none;">
		<div style="margin: 0 6px;">
			<div style="margin-top:6px;">
				<a href="http://www.zillow.com/Mortgage_Rates/#{scid=mor-wid-lthd}" target="_blank" style="font-size:9pt;color:#36b;text-decoration:none;font-weight:bold;">
				   
						Current
				   
				         
				   Mortgage Rates</a>
			</div>   
			
			<div style="color:#555;margin:5px 0 1px;">
				<span style="padding-left:137px;">Current</span>
				<span style="padding-left:23px;">Last Week</span>
			</div>

<div style="background:#fff;height:60px;width:284px;border:1px solid #adcfff;text-align:left;">
				<div style="width:146px;float:left;">
					<div style="height:20px;background-color:#fff;">
						<div style="padding:3px 0 0 4px;"><a href="http://www.zillow.com/30_Year_Fixed_Mortgage_Rates/#{scid=mor-wid-ltt1}" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:underline;color:#36b;">30 Year Fixed</a></div>
					</div>
					<div style="height:20px;background-color:#eff7ff;">
						<div style="padding:3px 0 0 4px;"><a href="http://www.zillow.com/15_Year_Fixed_Mortgage_Rates/#{scid=mor-wid-ltt2}" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:underline;color:#36b;">15 Year Fixed</a></div>
					</div>
					<div style="height:20px;background-color:#fff;">
						<div style="padding:3px 0 0 4px;"><a href="http://www.zillow.com/5-1_ARM_Mortgage_Rates/#{scid=mor-wid-ltt3}" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:underline;color:#36b;">5/1 ARM</a></div>
					</div>
				</div>
					
				<iframe title="Current Mortgage Rates" frameborder="0" height="60" scrolling="no" width="138" src="/mortgage/MortgageRateTableWidget.htm?wide=1&region=102001">
						Your browser doesn't support frames.  Visit 
					<a href="http://www.zillow.com/mortgage/" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none; font-size:9pt; font-weight:bold;">Zillow Mortgage Marketplace</a> 
					to see this content.
				</iframe>
				<div style="clear:both;"></div>
			</div>
			
			<div style="margin:4px 6px 0;height:15px;width:276px;">
				<a href="http://www.zillow.com/mortgage/#{scid=mor-wid-ltgr}" target="_blank" title="Zillow Mortgage Marketplace" style="display:block;margin-left:4px;height:15px;width:145px;float:left;"><img src="/static/images/zillow-mortgage-logo-small.gif" alt="Mortgages, Home Loans, and Mortgage Quotes at Zillow Mortgage Marketplace" style="border:none;"/></a>
				   
				<a href="http://www.zillow.com/webtools/widgets/MortgageRateWidget.htm#{scid=mor-wid-ltget}" target="_blank" style="font-size:7pt;color:gray;text-decoration:none;float:right;margin:1px 5px 0 0;width:80px;">Get this widget</a>
			</div>
		</div>
	</div>

Need a Mortgage?

Zillow Mortgage Marketplace

Competitive rates
Accurate, custom quotes
Thousands of lenders

... and, it's free and anonymous

Learn about Zillow Mortgage Marketplace

Zillow Poll:

Suggested by xitstrgty

How large of a lot do you own?

Less than 0.25 acre

0.25 to 1.0 acre

more than 1.0 acre

What are these "acres" that you keep referring to?

Next poll
Suggest a poll

Be A Good Neighbor

Zillow® Advice depends on each member to keep it a safe, fun, and positive place. If you see abuse, flag it. More on our Good Neighbor Policy

All Results (29)

Zillow FAQs (0)

Home Buying (0)

Home Selling (1)

Mortgage (6)

Housing Market (0)

Local Topics (1)

Home Ownership (1)

Home Improvement (0)

Home Q&A (17)

Pro-to-Pro (1)

Other (2)

Tools

Create an Email Alert

This alert is for the following:

How often would you like the alert emailed?

Partner Tools

Should we refinance current home or buy a new home?

Contributions: 1

Contributions: 2

Mortgage Lender

Contributions: 3547

Zillow All-Star

Real Estate Agent

Contributions: 1704

Zillow All-Star

Have a question? Ask it here.

Most Active Fairfax Real Estate Agents

Related Questions

Question Should we refinance current home or buy a new home?

Need a Mortgage?

Get instant mortgage quotes

Be A Good Neighbor

Tools

Create an Email Alert

This alert is for the following:

How often would you like the alert emailed?

Partner Tools

Nearby States

Nearby Cities

Nearby ZIP Codes

Should we refinance current home or buy a new home?

Contributions: 1

Main Image

Answers (3)

Contributions: 2

Mortgage Lender

Contributions: 3547

Zillow All-Star

Real Estate Agent

Contributions: 1704

Zillow All-Star

Have a question? Ask it here.

Most Active Fairfax Real Estate Agents

Related Questions

Question Should we refinance current home or buy a new home?

Need a Mortgage?

Get instant mortgage quotes

Be A Good Neighbor