April 2017 // Real Estate & Home Builders Guide // 11M
Considering a refinance? Try for a ‘home run’
By Ilyce Glink
and Samuel J. Tamkin
Tribune Content Agency
Q
: Where should I look
for a refinance loan to
lower my payments without
redoing a 30-year loan? I
heard there is a government
program that can help me.
My current mortgage is
with a big box lender.
: You seem to be
asking whether
you might qualify for a
loan refinancing under
a government program
to prevent foreclosures.
The “Home Affordable
Refinance Program” or
HARP was set up during
the Great Recession to
help homeowners avoid
foreclosures and defaults.
To see whether you
qualify under HARP, you
can check your eligibility
at HARP.gov. You’ll notice
that there are two different
A
qualifications for eligibility.
On the one side, your loan
needs to be backed by
Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac
and your loan must have
been taken out no later
than May 31, 2009. Also,
you must have little or no
equity in your home and
your home must be your
primary residence.
On the HARP.gov
website, there are some
steps you can take to
determine if your loan
is eligible for a HARP
refinance. Having said that,
you might be better off
checking with a mortgage
lender or mortgage broker
to see if you have other
options (particularly if
your home has increased in
value).
There are quite a
number of factors that go
into deciding whether to
refinance your loan or not.
PHILLIPS RESERVOIR PROPERTY -
BAKER COUNTY, BAKER CITY, OR - 21
miles from Baker City, the property offers a
beautiful timbered estate, gorgeous views
and year round recreation opportunities. This
property has a little over 2 acres in a secluded
area bordering the National Forest boundary.
$350,000 #RG00117
BALLARD CREEK - BAKER COUNTY/
OXBOW, OR - 160 acres hunters paradise
surrounded by BLM and NF 3 sides. Good
water and timber. Zoned timber/grazing.
$160,000 #RG01916
If you were to tell us that
you are 25 years into your
30-year loan and didn’t
want to extend the term of
your loan, we’d probably
suggest that refinancing
is not the right option for
you. In the early years of
a loan, each payment is
mostly interest with some
reduction in principal. In
the last years of your loan,
you pay mostly principal
and very little interest in
each payment.
If your home has
appreciated in value and is
worth considerably more
than your loan, a mortgage
lender or mortgage broker
can give you different
options to see if a conven-
tional refinance is an option
for you.
We believe there are
four parts to what we call a
“home run” refinance.
First, you would ideally
want to lower the interest
rate you’re paying. Second,
we’d also like to see you
reduce your monthly
payment. Third, we’d like
to see you compress the
term of the loan (which
is where the real savings
kicks in). Finally, you’d
want to carefully manage
the closing costs, so it
doesn’t take too long for the
savings to kick in.
If you get all four of
these things, it’s a “home
run” refinance. Go ahead
and do it.
But, sometimes you can
only get two or three of
these pieces. And, if that’s
the case, when do you pull
the trigger?
First, a lower monthly
payment shouldn’t always
be the top priority unless
you are in danger of
not making a mortgage
payment. If you’re 15 years
into a 30-year loan, you
should shop for a 15-year
loan (or even a 10-year
loan) to see if you can end
up paying off your loan
around the same time as
your original loan. If you
can do that, you’ll save
yourself all the additional
payments that you might
make past the original end
date of your loan.
The last item on
deciding to refinance is
how much refinancing
will cost you. If the cost
to refinance your loan is
several hundred dollars
and you can get that back
from the savings of the
refinancing in a couple of
months, it’s a great deal.
But if the costs to refinance
are several thousand dollars
and it will take you years
to get even, it might not be
worth refinancing.
So, talk to a couple
SALMON CREEK RANCH - PENDING - BAKER
COUNTY, BAKER CITY, OR - 42 acres, home,equestrian
facility, timber,pasture,springs andUSFS adjacent. 6 mil
from town. #RG00115 $599,000
Buell Farm - SOLD - Polk County/Sheridan, OR:
Bargain priced. 86+/- acres of potentially buildable rural
acreage. Small stream, 51 acres previously farmed, has
raised Christmas trees, oak trees, nice setting. $270,000
#RG01516
Couse Creek Property - PENDING - Umatilla County,
Milton-Freewater, OR: 16.93 acres with 14.5 acres fenced
and crossed fenced in pasture. Craftsman style, 1,442
sq. ft. home. Outbuildings include double car garage/
cook house, machine shed and shop. Couse Creek runs
through property. $380,000. #RG03016
McNamara Trust CRP - Umatilla County/Pendleton,
OR: 150.64 total acres of which 142 acres currently
enrolled in CRP. Great potential home site near Pendleton
with power located near property.
$250,000 #RG00716
Stevenson Farm #1 - Umatilla County/Pendleton,
OR: Development potential on this 76.37 acre parcel.
Zoned to allow the creation of 4ea nine acre lots with 40+
acres of river bottom remaining for recreation. $350,000
#RG02415
Elkhorn Mountain Getaway Ranch - Baker County/
Baker City, OR: 230 +/- acres timber parcel located
between Rock Creek and Muddy Creek. Adjacent to
ODFW area at the base of the Elkhorn Mountains.
Located 8 mi West of Haines. $230,000. RG#00717
10th St Commercial Bldg - Baker County/Baker City,
OR: This 122,726 sq. ft. lot includes a 1,644 sq. ft. building
built in 1981.The property has a perimeter chain link fence
and three entrances, on 9th Street, East Street and 10th
Street.
$299,000 #RG02014
Stevenson Farm #2 - Umatilla County/Pendleton, OR:
Potentially buildable lot of record. 39.24 acres with great
views of the Blue Mountains. Adjacent to a County road
and ½mile to power. Past uses include wheat production.
$150,000 #RG02515
Big Buttercreek CRP - Morrow County/Echo,
OR: CRP income property. 186.9 acres of land with
157.7 acres of CRP. Annual CRP payment of $10,992
with power and well located on the property. CRP
contract runs through 2020. The balance of the
property is range pasture. $295,000 #RG03515
The Whitney Land Co.
SEE BACK PAGE
of local, well-regarded
mortgage brokers or
lenders to get an idea of
how much equity you have
in your property and which
sort of loan programs will
meet your most immediate
need. Hopefully, you have
enough equity to qualify
for a conventional refi-
nance, which will almost
certainly be less expensive
than a HARP refinance.
Ilyce Glink is the creator
of an 18-part webinar+e-
book series called “The
Intentional Investor: How
to be wildly successful in
real estate,” as well as the
author of many books on
real estate. She also hosts
the “Real Estate Minute,”
on her YouTube channel.
Samuel J. Tamkin is a
Chicago-based real estate
attorney. Contact Ilyce and
Sam through her website,
ThinkGlink.com.
SKEELS
PROPERTY
-
UNION
COUNTY, UNION, OR - Secluded
buildable 80 +/- acres near Tollgate and
the Spout Springs Ski Resort. Mixed
timbered and open parcel on the breaks
of Lookingglass Creek. Forest Road
access is seasonal. Bordered on 2 sides
by Umatilla National Forest. Great view
property. WMU 56. $290,000. #RG02316
OLD RATTRAY RANCH WEST
- GILLIAM COUNTY, CONDON,
OR - 939.75 total acres. Property
consisting of 612.27 acres of range,
229.52 acres currently in wheat
production, and 97.96 acres of CRP.
Abundant deer and upland birds with
occasional elk. $385,979. #RG02516
101 S.E. 3RD • P.O. Box 1614 • PENDLETON, OR 97801
Phone: (541) 278- 4444
E-Mail: farms@whitneylandcompany.com