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Originally Posted by bobandjess99  So, I've been trying to research thgis online, but can't really figure out what we're supposed to do.
MY big issue is that when you do anyy of the calculators, it wants to know what your house is currently worth. We have NO clue. Therefore, we have no clue how muuch equity we have, etc. So...I assume we need to get a current appraisal, right? How do we do that? Do we just call someone to do it? Or do we need to go through a morttgage refi place, and use someone they select or something?
I can't figure this out. IS there like a step-by step on how to go aboutthis? All the info online seems to be just ads trying to get you to use a certain companyn/lender, etc, and not a lot of uunbiased info.
What exactly do we do first? second? third?
Ideally, we'd like to refi with a lower interest rate AND get cash out. Our credit is good, but our bad debt is piling up.
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forgot to mention, yes, once you apply for a loan, THEN the appraisal happens. the loan co or broker will arrange it, because they want to select the appraiser. don't bother paying for one yourself, they likely won't accept it, and you'll be out $400.
one friend just refi'd through quicken, and found it easy and streamlined, even though they had a complicated situation (2 units on the property, a main house and a cottage, 3 owners, one of whom is a waitress, so income higher than the w2 shows...).
i used a broker, i'm lazy that way, trying to shop banks against each other isn't my cup of tea. some people shop brokers against each other, and then lock in on whoever offers the lowest rate.
so, 1st: use one of the tools i linked to get a rough estimate of your home's value.
2nd: look at rates online to see how they are looking (try bankrate:
http://www.bankrate.com/mortgage.aspx)
3rd: find/collect your papers. likely they will want 1-2 years' tax forms, w2's, last month's bank statements (or last quarter's, for quarterly types of accounts, eg retirement) for any money you want them to consider as an asset (ie don't bother with an old credit union acct you have moldering away with 75 bucks in it), xerox of your/dh's driver's lic, last 2 pay stubs, proof of insurance coverage, proof you paid the property taxes, and so on. some places don't need that much paperwork detail, some do (the underwriter for my last loan was insanely demanding new papers every time i turned around; even 3 days after closing they wanted me to prove the source of fund for the cashiers check we gave at closing, since our checking acct hadn't had that much money in it a month -and 2 paychecks- earlier).
4th: look at a sample loan application online to find out what info you will need. they all should look alike, the "Uniform Residential Loan Application":
http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=...LxBCUT2YoGhUoQ
ugh, that link isn't coming up all pretty if you click on it, but you can quote me so that the whole thing shows (instead of the "..." shortened thing), then copy the address, and paste it into a new window, and it'll look like the real application with the boxes and stuff.
the loan co/broker you eventually pick and start working with will mail it (and a bunch of other stuff) for you to sign. it's helpful to have the info already collected so you aren't delaying things trying to dig up old phone #s for a job you had 2 years ago.
but don't start filling the account info ahead of time. your loan person, if they're competent, will have already filled out most of it from your credit profile. mostly you just need to verify they didn't screw anything up.
once you pick someone to handle it, they'll tell you what info they need. it's a lot of info to process, but individually, none of it is that complicated.
