If you are a homeowner who is looking at current interest rates and considering refinancing, you’ll want to ensure that you don’t miss the opportunity to lock in at a lower rate. Therefore, you will want to know how long mortgage refinancing takes. You cannot make an informed refinancing decision until you understand the process and time involved. This will grant you the ability to plan financially for your refinance.
Refinancing can take anywhere from two weeks to one month, but this could be extended depending on when you can get your home appraised and gather all the necessary documents.
We want to ensure that the process goes smoothly for you. Therefore, we want to help you understand each step from both the borrower’s and lender’s perspectives.
Hiring a Broker
Since you’ll be refinancing you’ll want to hire an mortgage broker with a network of lenders. Your broker will be able to recommend lenders that are suitable for your specific situation. But first, you’ll need to sit down with your mortgage professional to discuss your terms of engagement during the refinance process before you can begin the actual process itself.
Submitting Your Documents
If you are already prepared and have all of your documents in order, the process of refinancing your mortgage can be quite quick. This includes:
- Existing mortgage details
- Identification
- Income tax returns
- Proof of income and job stability
- Credit report and credit score
Once these documents are submitted, your broker will order a title search on the property to ensure that there are no pending liens against it.
Your Home Appraisal
Even when you’re are refinancing, you’ll need to get another home appraisal done. This is a very important part of the process. Any delay in scheduling and completing the appraisal could delay the timeframe of your approval. If you’re working with a mortgage broker, they can refer you to a local appraiser, so that you can avoid any delays.
Underwriting
The next step is underwriting. This is where an underwriter performs an assessment of your finances and home equity, then compares it to your requested loan amount. They will also assess in your banking statements, credit history and income during your risk-level assessment.They will then deem you as either a high-risk or low-risk borrower. If you have a fairly good credit score, then the underwriting process should go very smoothly and quickly.
Once you have completed these four steps, your lender will close your loan, at which time they’ll disburse your loan to pre-pay your already existing mortgage. However, if you are unsatisfied with your refinancing terms, and plan to see if you can negotiate with your current lender, this will also cause a delay in the timeframe for the refinancing process.
The length of time it takes to refinance, depends on you, your financial position, but your broker or lender can provide you with an estimated timeframe, and advise on how to avoid any delays. Contact AKAL Mortgages to speak to a broker today.
