Florida Home Mortgage Refinancing Could Save You Trouble on Adjustable Loans

If certain reports are valid, there’s less risk involved to those with non-traditional Florida home mortgage loans than may have been previously believed. Nevertheless, it’s often in your best interest to refinance to a fixed-rate mortgage before rates reset and foreclosure is even a remote possibility.

With that in mind, Colleen Hernandez, president and executive director of the Homeownership Preservation Foundation, offers the following advice:

• Look through your Florida home mortgage contract. This should clearly spell out the terms under which your loan will adjust.

• Avoid being surprised. Lenders must inform you before your rates adjust and your payments change, but this may not give you enough time to change your personal budget. Ask your lender the details of when the loan will adjust and how much more you will be paying per month. You’ll then be able to plan ahead.

• Look at your budget. Once you learn how much your Florida mortgage loan payment will adjust, take a hard look at your entire financial picture. Can you afford this payment easily? Has your situation changed to make it close to impossible for you to avoid missing payments?

• Work with your lender. If you find that your new payment is more than you can or want to handle, or even if you have already missed some payments, you can work with your lender to determine what your options are. “Despite myths to the contrary, it is in your lender’s best interest to keep you in your home,” advises Hernandez. “Your lender may be able to help you refinance your loan, offer a manageable repayment plan or one-time grant, or take other steps to help you continue to make your payments.”

Even if the situation isn’t as dire as you once feared, it’s important to understand every aspect of adjustable Florida home loans. Hope for the best and for rates to remain reasonable, but prepare for the worst just in case.