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When Should You Refinance Your Mortgage? There are two primary reasons to refinance a mortgage: to get a more desirable rate and terms or to extract cash from the home's equity. Both of these reasons can of course also be fulfilled!

Rate-and-term refinancing

Rate-and-term refinancing pays off one loan with the proceeds from the new loan, using the same property as collateral. This type of loan allows you to take advantage of lower interest rates or shorten the term of your mortgage to build equity faster. Rate-and-term refinancing refers to a myriad of strategies, including switching from an ARM to a fixed or vice versa. For example, if you have an ARM that is set to adjust upward in a few months, you can refinance into a fixed-rate mortgage. Or if you have a fixed-rate loan and you know you will move in two or three years, you could refinance into a lower-rate 3/1 hybrid ARM.

Cash-out refinancing

Cash-out refinancing leaves you with additional cash above the amount needed to pay off your existing mortgage, closing costs, points and any mortgage liens. You may use the additional cash for any purpose.

For example, say you bought your house for $150,000 a few years ago and borrowed $120,000. Now the house has an appraised value of $250,000 and you owe $110,000. With a cash-out refinance, you could get a mortgage for $150,000. You would pay off the $110,000 you owe and pocket the $40,000 difference, minus closing costs.

Ohio Mortgage Bankers Association

To learn more about Ohio Mortgage options you can check with the Ohio Mortgage Bankers Association, founded in 1961. OMBA is a statewide organization devoted exclusively to the field of residential and commercial real estate finance. OMBA's membership comprises mortgage originators and servicers, as well as investors, and a wide variety of mortgage industry-related firms. Mortgage banking firms engage directly in originating, selling, and servicing real estate investment portfolios.

Members of OMBA include mortgage bankers, mortgage brokers, banks, mortgage insurance companies, attorneys, credit unions, saving & loans associations etcetera.

OMBA is dedicated to the maintenance of a strong housing, residential and commercial, real estate finance system. This involves support for a strong economy; a public-private partnership for the production and maintenance of single and multi family home ownership opportunities; a strong secondary mortgage credit delivery system; equitable tax laws; suitable shelter for low income families and the disadvantaged; housing opportunities for the nation's veterans; appropriate environmental measures; and fair and equitable bankruptcy laws.

OMBA consists of 145 member companies which represent approximately 80% of the mortgage lending business in the State of Ohio.