Second Mortgage Re-financing

In 1994, we refinanced the mortgage to a 7/23 ARM with an initial interest rate of 5.99%.  The interest rate is to adjust in May 2001, and probably significantly higher than we can get elsewhere.  Plus Linda has moved in and bought half the house, so it makes sense to refinance again, to get a lower rate than we expect. (Note: turns out the adjusted rate would have been 8.75%).  And it turns out that I had started a new job and my employer has an arrangement with Chase Bank to provide low-cost mortgages (as a way to attract new employees).

So we refinanced with Chase Manhattan Mortgage, getting a 15-year fixed rate mortgage for $140,000 at 7.25%.  This paid the balance of the second mortgage of $139,801.05 plus closing costs.  Closing costs included a 1% loan origination fee ($1400), title insurance ($1131.70), and an appraisal fee ($300), among other things.

The appraisal compared our house with 3 close-by that had been sold recently, trying to adjust for the differences in age, size, and so on.

Again the appraisal tried to figure out exactly the size of the house.

Interestingly, the previous appraisal  thought the house was 3048 square feet; this one things it is 3022 square feet.  The garage was 592 but is now 591.

The photos of the house show how the landscaping has changed, in the front

and in the back