should i refinance back to a 30 year?

[Link]

hi all -

i bought my home back in 2005 for 165,000. The loan was for $158,000 for 30 years @ 5.9%.

Three years ago, I refinanced to a 15 year @ 3.5%

I have 12 years left on the loan ($130,000) and my payments are pretty high right now. I pay 1530/month, including tax & insurance.

If I refinance back to a 30 year, I will be saving at least $500/month. That can help pay off about $8,000 in other credit card bills and a 2nd equity loan ($16,000 left @ 8.9%).

Would it be wise to refi back to a 30 or continue grinding away with 12 years left on the mortgage?

[Petunia 100]

hi all -

i bought my home back in 2005 for 165,000. The loan was for $158,000 for 30 years @ 5.9%.

Three years ago, I refinanced to a 15 year @ 3.5%

I have 12 years left on the loan ($130,000) and my payments are pretty high right now. I pay 1530/month, including tax & insurance.

If I refinance back to a 30 year, I will be saving at least $500/month. That can help pay off about $8,000 in other credit card bills and a 2nd equity loan ($16,000 left @ 8.9%).

Would it be wise to refi back to a 30 or continue grinding away with 12 years left on the mortgage?

Well, maybe. Why do you have the home equity and credit card debt? Have you been overspending, or is the mortgage payment simply too big to handle?

[Link]

Well, maybe. Why do you have the home equity and credit card debt? Have you been overspending, or is the mortgage payment simply too big to handle?

a mix of both. i have a lot of expenses, kids; it added up. trying to get to 0 cc debt first. then maybe apply the money saved from mortgage towards the equity l9an

[Petunia 100]

a mix of both. i have a lot of expenses, kids; it added up. trying to get to 0 cc debt first. then maybe apply the money saved from mortgage towards the equity l9an

A 0% credit card balance transfer is an excellent idea. However, if you don't have enough left over after paying the mortgage to cover other expenses, a 0% ccbt isn't going to solve the problem.

Do you have a written budget? If not, I suggest you get to work on one.

You have to have something to set aside each month for necessities which come up, or you're going to continue to struggle with debt. You will have home repairs, car repairs, doctor bills, etc., from time to time.

I'd work on the budget and spending first. If there truly isn't enough money to cover everything, then a mortgage refi is worth considering. You might consider a 20 year mortgage, as well as a 30.

If you want to post your budget, I'm sure you will get a lot of feedback.

[Slug]

The answer to the question is probably Yes. You can basically re-fi into almost the same rate for a 30 that you're paying on a 15. For you that will open significant cashflow to pay down other much higher interest debt. This makes sense. If you find yourself flush with cash and no debt later, you can always pay down the mortgage at an accelerated rate.

[~bs]

doesn't really make sense to refi down to a 15, then back up to a 30. you're wasting money on fees. Not to mention probably save only a few hundred a month by stretching it all the way back out to a 30 year loan.

I say keep the 15, and pay down the consumer debt and heloc. once you dump the debt, the 1500 mortgage payment or whatever won't seem too bad.