A Few Tips if You’re Considering Refinancing

Refinancing your mortgage is a great idea, but it could affect your credit score. Here’s how.

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Mortgage rates are still at historic lows. For many homeowners, it's a great time to refinance. Refinancing allows you to pay off your current mortgage with a new mortgage at a lower rate. Refinancing means lower monthly payments and more money left in your pocket.

But here's something important that many people don't know: Refinancing can affect your credit score negatively. You see, when you refinance, the new creditor will do a "hard inquiry" about your credit history. This inquiry can actually lower your credit score. Looking for new credit lines (like a new mortgage) equates with greater credit risk. 

How much will a hard inquiry actually lower your credit score? This depends on several factors. In some cases, a hard inquiry might not lower your credit score at all. However, if you've recently opened up multiple new credit lines (auto loans, credit cards, etc.), then a hard inquiry could decrease your credit score by up to five points. This is true if you only have a short credit history. And if you shop around for the best rate for more than 45 days, you will get multiple hard inquiries. Each of them will contribute to the total effect on your credit score. 

A hard inquiry could decrease your score by five points automatically.

So what does this all mean for you? Unfortunately, there's no simple answer. It's going to be a part of the calculation you have to make for yourself, which will also include the refinancing fees, your own credit history, and how much you could be saving with a refinanced mortgage.

If you're looking for help in making this decision, let me know and I can put you in touch with several top Northern Virginia mortgage brokers.

If you have any questions about the Northern Virginia real estate market, or if you want to talk about the finer points of mortgage rates and refinancing, give me a call at 703-328-3434 or email me at Janet@TheGreshGroup.com. I'm here to help. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Merry Christmas from the Gresh Group

Looking to buy or sell a home in Northern Virginia? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price  Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (703) 636-3588 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Happy Holidays, everyone! From the entire Gresh family, we want to wish you and your family the best this holiday season. We hope you enjoy our video, didn't Adam, Emma, and Jack do a great job?

We had a tremendous year in 2014, and it was thanks to all of you. We have tremendous clients and past clients who have helped us tremendously by referring us to their family and friends. Thanks to all of you, we can say we had a very successful year and are looking forward to another one in 2015. 
 
If you have any questions for us about real estate, we are never too busy to take a call or respond to an email. Once again, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We look forward to seeing you in 2015!
 

Utilize our Closing Lawyer for a Smoother Transaction

Looking to buy or sell a home in Northern Virginia? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price  Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (703) 636-3588 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Today I have invited a full service, real estate attorney, Susan Pesner with Pesner Kawamoto Law Firm, to speak with you about the difference between a settlement company with a lawyer available and a settlement company without a lawyer available.

Overall, it is always a better option to hire a settlement company with at least a lawyer available or a law firm like Susan's with settlement options. The main advantage with a law firm is that they can provide you with personal legal counsel and can interpret many different contracts for you. Many other companies have lawyers on staff while others simply outsource as needed but will remain neutral should a legal dispute arise. At the Gresh Group, we highly recommended those companies with at least 1 full time, employed lawyer on staff that we can connect directly with should an issue arise. (delete - Susan's office will work to make your settlement much easier and less painful, and they will fill you in on what is happening throughout the entire process.)

Susan has been handling settlements and settling real estate disputes for over 35 years. Her goal is to give you a smooth transition from purchase to sale. Susan's office is just 10 minutes away from ours, and she is always able to help buyer and sellers in Northern Virginia.

If you would like to know more about Susan or how she might be able to help you, then please feel free to contact her at 703-506-9440 or SPesner@PesnerKawamoto.com.

As always, contact me at 703-636-3588 or Janet@TheGreshGroup.com with any questions or concerns about real estate in Northern Virginia.

When Searching for a Home, the Web Can Lead You Astray

Looking to buy or sell a home in Northern Virginia? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price  Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (703) 636-3588 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

The National Association of Realtors says that 90% of home buyers begin their home search online. The same is true for sellers, who try to determine an accurate price for their home by searching for similar homes online. There are a lot of advantages in doing this, but there are also huge disadvantages with using these websites.

The most commonly used websites are Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com. Have you ever wondered why these websites exist? They exist to make money, and they are making money off of you and your data. When you register for these websites, they take your information, compile it, and then sell it to Realtors who are looking for leads. They sell zip codes to real estate agents all across the country just from the information that you freely provide them.

The major disadvantage of these websites to you is that their information is simply inaccurate. Their goal is to show as many homes as possible, and that means that they will post homes that are listed, under contract, and also properties that have already been sold. These websites also estimate the value of homes, and these estimates are wildly inaccurate. Zillow will actually tell you how accurate their home prices are if you scroll down to the bottom of the page. When I did this, Zillow actually told me that their home prices for the Washington DC area were 90% wrong! That is huge.

The only way to ensure that you're getting accurate information is to pick up the phone and call a real estate agent such as myself. We have access to accurate and updated listings that websites cannot offer you. As soon as a property comes onto the market, we can send it to you so that you have the best chance of getting the home that you want.

If you're interested in purchasing a home in Northern Virginia, Maryland, or Washington DC, then please call me at 703-636-3588. I would be more than happy to sit down and discuss your individual needs.