Mortgage & Refinance Calculators: A Quick Guide 

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Are you considering applying for a mortgage refinancing? Perhaps you are a homeowner having a hard time with your current mortgage. Or maybe you are having a bad time financially overall, and things are not looking very good for you. You hear about refinancing from your neighbors and your friends., They are doing it, so you are considering doing it, too. However, should you? Would refinancing your home help you solve problems, or is it a trap that you should be wary of? 

There are so many mortgage calculators online that can help you have a rough idea of how the mortgage for your home would look based on factors and values that you would provide. There are also refinancing calculators that can help you determine the value you can get out of your current home mortgage, based on its current state and other financial factors. 

Before you dive into refinancing and consider putting your home for another mortgage, (which is what refinancing technically means). It is a good idea to understand what it is first, how it works, and what are the reasons why you may want to do it–then, later on, decide if you want to take this route for your current mortgage or not. 

What can mortgage and refinance calculators do? 

An online mortgage and refinance calculator can help you have a fair idea of how a possible refinancing can help you get more value out of your current loan. It may ask you some of the most basic loan information such as monthly amortization, your home value, your loan to value or LTV ratio, tax and insurance value, and many more. You would also need to provide a sample term for the new loan and a fixed interest rate. From there, you can see and estimate information for a new possible loan.  

Take note, however, that no refinance calculator can give you an accurate calculator, as your final refinancing terms and value still depend on many other factors outside of what the calculator can put into consideration. 

What is mortgage refinancing? 

Simply put, mortgage refinancing is the act of acquiring a second loan for your home. This may be used to pay off your original loan and extend the terms of payment without you falling into huge interests, or sometimes it can be used when you end up finding a lower interest rate. 

Some people, on the other hand, use refinancing to get some equity out of their home and hope to take out some extra cash they can use elsewhere, such as home repairs, education fund, or emergency fund. 

Should you refinance? 

Depending on what your intention for it is, it might or might not be a good choice to do. If you find that refinancing would lower the overall interest for your home loan, then it might be a good move to do it. However, if you only want to make some cash along the way, be careful. 

While there might be a lower interest rate on face value and the possibility of extra dollars in excess might tempt you; this usually leads to longer payment terms and thus, still bigger in interest. One mistake in dealing with a refinance and you might find yourself falling into a debt trap. 

So, while refinancing may offer value to your current loan, there are several risks that you should consider, too. Also, unless there is no other way to make money for an emergency, looking to make cash out of refinancing can be one of the worst moves you can take.