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Frequently Asked Questions
Straight answers to the questions we hear most.
The form is broken down into clear sections:
Loan Terms: Details like loan amount, interest rate, and monthly principal/interest.
Projected Payments: An estimate of your total monthly payment, including mortgage insurance and estimated escrow for taxes and insurance.
Closing Costs: A detailed table of all the costs you will pay at closing, separating lender fees from third-party fees.
Comparisons: Key metrics to help you compare loans, like the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) and Total Interest Percentage (TIP).
Other Considerations: Information on assumptions, late payments, and servicing of the loan.
Loan Terms: Details like loan amount, interest rate, and monthly principal/interest.
Projected Payments: An estimate of your total monthly payment, including mortgage insurance and estimated escrow for taxes and insurance.
Closing Costs: A detailed table of all the costs you will pay at closing, separating lender fees from third-party fees.
Comparisons: Key metrics to help you compare loans, like the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) and Total Interest Percentage (TIP).
Other Considerations: Information on assumptions, late payments, and servicing of the loan.
A recast and a refinance are fundamentally different. A recast keeps your existing loan intact—same lender, interest rate, and loan term—and only lowers your monthly payment by re-amortizing the principal. A refinance replaces your old loan with an entirely new one, which can change your interest rate, term, and monthly payment, but it involves credit checks, closing costs, and fees, unlike a simple recast.
An extra principal payment is any amount you pay towards your mortgage that exceeds the required monthly principal and interest payment, which is applied directly to your loan’s principal balance.
Pay down credit card balances, avoid taking on new debt, consider a debt consolidation loan to lower monthly payments, and if possible, increase your income with a side job or overtime. Avoid closing old credit accounts, as this can shorten your credit history and lower your score.
An amortization schedule is a table that shows the breakdown of each monthly mortgage payment throughout the life of the loan. It details how much of each payment goes toward paying down the principal balance versus how much goes toward paying interest. Early in the loan, a larger portion of each payment goes toward interest.
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