NEVADA has many mortgage lenders and brokers who are also into mortgage refinance. So, if you currently have mortgaged property in Carlson City, Las Vegas, Henderson, Sparks or anywhere in the state of Nevada, it will not be difficult to get your mortgage refinanced.

The issue therefore is not the availability of mortgage refinance, but whether it makes sense for you to opt for it.

 

Mortgage Planners in Nevada

Interest rates are on the decline in the United States as at early March 2008. This is reflecting on mortgage and mortgage refinance rates too. But interest rates are almost always moving up or down as a result of Federal Reserve measures.

If low interest rates are what is attracting you to mortgage refinance, you can check out the rates at any time from one of many sources.

One such source on the internet is www.mortgageloan.com. According to this website, mortgage rates as on 6th March, 2008, are as follows:

 

Nevada Mortgage Rates, as at 6th March, 2008
Loan type	Rate	Movement in week to 6th March, 2008
30-year fixed	5.58%	-0.07%
15-year fixed	4.92%	-0.03
3/1 ARM	4.78%	+0.20
5/1 ARM	5.03%	+0.17
30-year fixed Jumbo	6.72%	-0.09
Rates may contain points. 1 point = 1% of loan amount
Source: www.mortgageloan.com/rates/nevada

 

Understanding the table

The above table is self-explanatory, but the terms under 'Loan type' may need some clarification for some readers. The type '30-year fixed' means a loan of a duration of 30 years with a fixed interest rate that applies throughout the loan's duration.

In other words, the rate remains same regardless of how rates in the market move. The 15-year fixed loan is similar except that its duration is 15 years.

 

The term 'ARM' is abbreviation for 'adjustable rate mortgage'. In this type of loan, the rate remains fixed and low for a certain number of initial years, after which rates are changed every year depending on the rates prevailing in the market.

Thus, 3/1 ARM is a loan with a fixed interest rate for the first three years followed by revision every year thereafter. In the same vein, a 5/1 ARM loan is one in which the fixed interest applies to the first five years, followed by revision every year thereafter.

 

The jumbo loan requires a more elaborate explanation. To understand it, let's first know that the mortgage loan market is dominated by government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) like Fannie May, and Freddie Mac. These are private companies formed under federal law, whose shares are publicly tradable.

The loans given out by these companies are within limits specified on a year-by-year basis, and such loans are called 'conforming loans'. Any mortgage loan whose amount exceeds the conforming loan limits, is called Jumbo loan, or non-conforming loan. Jumbo loans, as seen from the above table, carry the highest rate of interest, hence are not popular.

 

For the year 2008, any first mortgage loan that exceeds the following amounts for different home types, are to be considered jumbo loans: $417,000 for one-family homes, $533,850 for two-family homes, $645,300 for three-family homes, and $801,950 for four-family homes.

For second mortgages, the limit is $208,500 for any type of home. Even at the risk of being repetitive, let's emphasize that the figures in this paragraph have to be EXCEEDED in order for a loan to be come into the jumbo loan category.

 

In the footnote to the above table, it is said ' Rates may contain points. 1 point = 1% of loan amount'. To understand this, let's first get an idea about 'points'.

These are payments you make to the lender for adjustment with the interest rate, so that the effective rate you pay on your mortgage or mortgage refinance is low. One point is equal to 1% of the loan amount. Not all lenders in Nevada insist on points, though some do.

 

Conclusion

This article has provided an overview of mortgage and mortgage refinance interest rates, and the type of loans available in Nevada. It 's not necessarily true that low interest rates justify refinance of your existing mortgage. You should know what benefit you want from refinance.

Online help is available, where you can use online calculators to see what different refinance types and terms mean to you. Some of the websites where you can find such calculators are: www.mortgageloan.com, www.erate.com, www.interest.com, www.bankrate.com among many others. Get an idea from these calculators and then get in touch with lenders / brokers nearest to you in Nevada.

You can locate them through the same websites where you find online mortgage calculators. The information you have obtained from the online calculators will serve as good backgrounder in your negotiations with the lenders / brokers.