Can we refinance to get a lower rate and equity to repair the roof?

Sherry, I was just going by what is said on the Home Affordable Refinance Program.gov. website.

BTW I did not pull cash out of the equity. I'm not sure you can do that, but you surely can lower your monthly payment. My mother's loan was 15 years into a 30 year mortgage. Mine was 4 years into a 30 year mortgage.

Dear Freqflyer, If you qualify, HAARP costs you nothing and will lower your interest rate. It is a part of a settlement between Chase Bank and the US government. Chase (and possibly other banks as well) is required to make these loans as a punitive settlement agreement for bilking thousands of dollars from their customers. Look it up. I got such a loan, so did my mother and a friend of mine. Don't say you can't get it if you don't have the personal knowledge. It requires a loan application for the refinance. I was in bankruptcy when I was approved.They knew that I was in bankruptcy. It is quite different than a conventional loan. It is a loan refinance. My interest rate dropped from 9% to 2.5%. I know what I'm talking about here.

Home Affordable Refinance Program [HARP] refinance loans require a loan application, underwriting process, and refinance fees will apply. They aren't in the business to gift over money, they want repaying no differently than a conventional loan.

BTW HAARP refinance requires NO credit check or any of the other BS typically required with a conventional loan.

Thanks!

check on a HAARP loan. I got one sith 2.5% interest

You didn't say what the current interest rate on the mortgage is now. These days, you need EXCELLENT credit to get an excellent interest rate. Definitely over an 800 FICO score. How much time is left on the mortgage? It must be 10 years or less, with a 30 year mortgage. Refinancing if there is 10 years or less left on the mortgage, back to 30 years, is not always the best idea. Your father/brother may pay far more in interest if the house is refinanced than if they just pay it off in 10 years.

In the housing market now, houses are worth far less than they were 7 or 8 years ago. It has slowly been getting better, but not by much. Unless the mortgage loan is much more than what the house is worth now----which I doubt it is, considering it is a 20+ year old mortgage----it wouldn't be worth refinancing. You're better off just paying off the mortgage & being 100% debt free.

You also don't say where your father is living. Does he live in the house with your brother? Does he get social security and/or retirement (pension) payments? If so, where is this money going?

How much would it cost to repair the roof? Are you looking at getting a whole new roof put on, or just some repairs on the existing roof? It may be much more worthwhile for your brother to pay for the roof repairs out of his own pocket. It wouldn't be worthwhile to refinance a mortgage if he only needs a couple thousand dollars to repair the roof. Closing costs would far exceed that. It may be wiser for your brother to take out a personal loan if the repairs exceed a couple thousand dollars. He can actually get a credit card with 0% interest for a year & a half-----if he pays it off within that amount of time, there is no interest added on. That may be a better way to go. Since the house is going to be his after your father passes anyway, he should accept the responsibility of paying for the repairs.

The bottom line is that no matter whether or not the house is being left to your brother in your father's will, or you're the POA, the deed is still in your father's name & legally, it is his house & his mortgage. If his dementia is advanced & he doesn't understand the concept of refinancing or a HELOC, he cannot sign any bank papers. It is also unfair to dump that on you father at this point in his life, in my humble opinion. Refinancing what's left of the mortgage for 10 years back into a 30 year mortgage doesn't make sense for an elderly person with dementia. Plus----the bank may not approve it based on your father's age. That is one of the things they look at, and unless your brother is put on the deed as a co-owner, your father is legally the only person responsible for that mortgage right now.

Refinancing may result in closing costs that exceed the cost of repairing the roof.

Have your brother take out an HELOC on the house.; I'm sure that there must be equity to cover a new roof by now. Your Dad will have to sign for this, even though he has dementia. He still is the rightful owner of the property. Your bro should continue making the payments on the house as well as the HELOC loan.
No need to refinance. Please do not involve Medicaid. Find the money.

Have you talked with a mortgage banker to see how much equity is in the home? After twenty years of payments the house must have equity but once you refinance, the start the clock all over with a new mortgage, new payments and if your father dies soon, then will your brother be able to afford those new payments? Check with roofing companies to see if they have a payment plan that would be smaller than refinancing.

You have to ask yourself first does Dad have enough funds to use for his care from his own retirement, even if for some reason he needs to be placed into a nursing home, or needs round the clock 3-shift of care if he remains at home?

If the answer is *no*, then Medicaid will kick in, but since your Dad owns a house, Medicaid can put a lien on the house, and once the house is sold, all proceeds will go to Medicaid. That is something the family has to think about.

And if your brother still wants to refinance the house, the Deed will need to be changed to add his name.