Refinance

A lot of homeowners like the idea of using the equity in their home to pay off high interest credit cards and other smaller debts.  Refinancing your mortgage to eliminate higher interest debts is a highly useful tool. 

If you are refinancing your home, you will need to gather a few documents for your title company.

First, you need to locate your Owners Title Insurance Policy.  You would have received this Policy about a month or so after you purchased your home.  The Policy is about 3 to 4 pages long.  It has a Schedule A and a Schedule B.  It shows your name as the insured and the policy amount is the amount that you paid for the property. 

By providing a copy of your Owners Title Insurance Policy to your title company, you will save money.  This is called a “reissue credit.  The amount of the credit is directly related to how much your policy is on Schedule A.  If you are not able to locate a copy of your Policy, your title agent will not be able to give you the “reissue credit”. 

Second, you will need to locate a copy of your most recent survey.  Once you find your survey, you need to examine it closely and determine if its accurate.  For instance, if you installed a new fence or put in a pool or a new concrete deck, the survey is not accurate and you will need a new survey.  However, if after examining the survey you determine it is accurate, you will not need to incur the cost of a new survey. 
At the closing, you will simply sign a Survey Affidavit.  The affidavit states that the survey is accurate and that there have been no changes since it was prepared.  This again will save you money since a new survey typically costs between $300.00 and $400.00. 

Third, you will need to provide your title company with a copy of your most recent mortgage statement.  If you have more than one mortgage, you need to provide a copy of each mortgage statement.  If you do not receive a printed mortgage statement, you will need to provide the following information: 

1. The name of your current lender
2. Your account number
3. The telephone number for customer service

With this information, your title company can order a payoff statement for each mortgage. 

Most borrowers receive cash proceeds as part of their refinance.  In those instances, we can send your proceeds to an account in your name via a wire transfer.  This way, you will not need to go to the bank to deposit the check and more importantly, you will not have to wait for the check to clear.