Hi again donaldsg, I was able to use Dave's post to convince my husband to shop around some more and I'd like some advice on alternatives. Good... but ugghh!! These are the best offers & advice he's secured??? Option 1) Home equity loan from our credit union with a fixed rate of 6.24% for a 10 year term, and costs are mortgage tax only, or Even Bernanke has come out & explicitly stated that the Fed is going to keep short-term interest rates low "well into the foreseeable future." Currently, HELOC money is available around Prime (plus or minus maybe 1/4 to 1/2%) That means you can get the money you need (and only draw it *as* needed) at around a net rate of 3%-ish. That's under *HALF* the costs of the fixed loan, without the more dangerous burden of a forced 10 year repayment amortization*!!! If you anticipate the ability to save up enough money over the future 10 years to pay for this kitchen addition... then you are likely far better off using a HELOC to do the job (which is also exponentially cheaper in closing costs... from jest a few hundred bucks,) and then using your "savings power" to apply your budget to retiring the HELOC balance. (* The reason amortization is a responsible person's nightmare is because it removes budgetary control from YOU. Now, this may actually be a good thing for those who know they are "money-management challenged" and if this is true for you I understand... many people are. HOWEVER, if you are indeed a strong income and budgetary manager, then you are far better off keeping 100% control of which direction you send 100% of your money each month (which you can only do when you are NOT constrained by amortization.) The *BEST* way to eliminate your mortgage (for responsible people,) is to accumulate a side "Mortgage Freedom Account" which grows to the point that you can then stroke out a single large check to extinguish the entire balance at once. EVERYONE ought to eliminate ALL of their home leverage (HOWEVER, never a day nor a dollar earlier than it is SAFE to do so!) Option 2) refinance with our current mortgage carrier for a 20 year term at 4.75%, paying closing costs of $5500 and $1920 for points. Again, going the wrong direction on amortization (I am assuming from your self-description you are indeed a tight and responsible budget manager.) Further, 4.75% is way too pricey on today's market for a 20 year loan. EVEN FURTHER, if you are planning on staying in this home longer than 5-8 years, and you accept a higher interest rate offer in order to have a lower closing cost (which will entirely be financed by the loan anyway,) then you will be tilting the cost/savings trade-off into the present, and casting your permanent costs into your permanent monthly payments which will NOT get reduced back down after the 5 year breakeven period. Put it this way.... For approximately every $1 you spend in higher closing costs which results in a lower interst rate.... You save an annual total of about $0.20 in interest costs, permanently, per year. After 5 years has passed, you CONTINUE to save that $0.20 per year, EVERY year. SPEND $5,000 in discount points, save $1,000 per year on interest charges. After 5 years, KEEP saving $1,000 per year. ALTERNATIVELY; For approximately every $1 you REDUCE in closing costs which results in a HIGHER interst rate.... You SPEND an annual total of an additional $0.20 in interest costs, permanently, per year. After 5 years has passed, you CONTINUE to SPEND that $0.20 per year, EVERY year. AVOID $5,000 in discount points, SPEND $1,000 per year in higher interest charges. After 5 years, KEEP SPENDING $1,000 per year, permanently. Make more sense? This is one of the reasons why it pays to use a properly educated planner to structure your finances, if you aren't familiar with all the variables and how they can really affect you over time. Cheers, Dave Donhoff Leverage Planner

my wife and i just did a refi and we got our money about 10 business days after funding. the checks to our CC companies were in our hand the day of closing, but the cash to finish out a couple other things took the 10 BUSINESS days. you may see it this week, but most likely it will be next week.

As you rightly assumed, in a refi, there is a 3 day right of recission under Federal and many state's laws. You sign all the paperwork, but don't get the money until the 3 days (business days) have expired. You can't waive the right. What's happening is that the closing company is protecting themselves and you. The settlement or funding date is the first date they can send out the payoff funds to the bank. The payoff letter can be written several ways, with an exact payoff amount on a certain day with a per diem for additional days or it can give a payoff amount effective through a future date (often the end of the month). The closing agent will figure out the amount for the payoff as of the funding date plus 1 and then will add a few extra days cushion. Why? If FedEx is late, if the clerk at the bank doesn't process it, whatever, if the funds are insufficient, then your loan is not paid off until the bank gets that extra hundred fifty bucks you wouldn't let the closing agent send. You get additional per diems and alot of hassle. You blame the closing agent and the bank, they blame you. Fun all around. Of course if you send too much, the bank is supposed to refund you the difference and they will....eventually. I usually see 2-3 days extra after the settlement day +1, so 7 days is a bit much, but you will get the difference back and you will be reassured that enough money was sent to payoff the loan.

1) Appraisal = $800 - high? � It depends on the area, we just paid $450 for ours so for me it would be yes but you mostly have to use the lenders pick so you are stuck. 2) Survey = $750 & Survey Fee = $750 - duplication? - Are you paying for the maps and registration as well as the survey? 3) Origination Fee = $695 - Junk Fee but we're paying 0 points? � Pretty well all banks charge a loan origination fee, most are in the $500-$1000 range. Did your last home not have a origination fee attached to the loan? 4) Settlement Fee = $275 - Junk Fee? � I don�t know what that one is. 5) Title Binder Charge +Title Bringdowns =$350 - what are these?- Well my title search is going to cost me about $1500 so that looks like a bargain. They are insuring that you have not leveraged the land for another propose If you are unhappy with the closing costs you should shop around, they do vary by lender.