BINGO!
Mortgage rates recently fell to 4.25% for a 15 year loan. I went in to investigate the benefit of refinancing. I asked what closing costs would be, since the advertised rate was “no points, no fees”.
The bank loan officer called their finance arm, asked for closing costs, who estimated north of $3,200 to refinance my $16,000 loan.
While I was there, I asked about refinancing my $30,000 car loan. She said there were no fees. All I needed was a $15 fee to California DMV.
I grilled her on the fact that my car loan would be free but they wanted $3,200 to re-run a stinking loan on a home I ALREADY OWNED. They had a schedule of fees included sitting on the desk, and when I added them up it came to around $1,500. I’m sure their costs have risen since the sheet was printed and laminated, but still, we are talking about $1,500 in PROFIT just for writing a new note.
BS!
This was not a new house purchase. Just a refinance. An appraisal and new loan is all I should need, a couple of hundred in fees at the very very most.
I told them to shove it.
I went home and did the math and found that that my break even point was at about 7 years.
The bottom line: they would make as much money off fees for my refinancing as I was going to save.
They can go to hell. As far as I am concerned, they won’t see a penny from me unless rates go to 3% AND I can negotiate a low closing cost. I’ll pay off the house on accelerated payments and make sure they make the least off me.
I am STILL FURIOUS that they would steal half my savings just for rewriting the note on a home I already own and have only had 2 years.
They are a good Savings & Loan and I am very happy with them, but they lost a fee paying customer with their greed. Screw em.
All you have to do is look at the paperwork. On multiple pages there are multiple sections and each section requires a full signature. Why? Because each section comes from a different person within the bureaucracy looking to justify their existence. “We’re the department that keeps the bank from losing money from lawsuits by people that claim they never knew they would be responsible for electric utilities payments and added the second section on page 76 that requires people to sign they know they must pay their own electric bill. So, we added that section and audit that the buyer signs it. We not only save the bank from utility lawsuits but also added $25 in fees to each closing and made $780,000 last year.” I kid you not. One bureaucrat after another has plundered the process and tacked on fees using that kind of BS.