Credit Loan > Mortgage Loans > The Ghost and Your Mortgage Loan

A Mortgage Loan That Goes Bump in the Night

You have retired or are planning to and would like to move to a smaller home. Your current house has been on the market for what seems like ages and is proving difficult to sell. With interest rates being what they are and new laws appearing on the books, this might be the time to pull your house for a time, and refinance instead. A mortgage loan may be just the answer you need to provide breathing room until there is some improvement in your situation.

The good news about mortgage refinancing is that banks will only look at things like the absolute value of your home, your credit score and how much you owe. The market may be picking up, but it is still poor, so the true reason your house fails to sell may not be taken into consideration at all.

Once you have researched your assets and debits, determined your credit rating and the financing option for your needs – you may want to switch from your existing format to an amortized, adjustable rate, or interest-only mortgage – you will want to study the options and find the best lender. Your current brick and mortar bank may offer you the best rate, or there may be an on-line one that provides better terms.

Regardless of what type of refinancing and lender you chose, as a borrower, you will likely not have to reveal the horrible truth. That your home does not sell because every time a buyer starts to look promising, they do what any savvy home-shopper does and asks the neighbors about the area, the schools, and the crime rate. Which always kills the sale.

As a responsible seller, you mentioned that there had been a death in the house, and some people thought it might be haunted. The neighbors never hesitate to share the rest of the story of the spectre of the headless vacuum cleaner salesman who stalks the halls of your home every Tuesday night, reliving his gruesome demise due to an upholstery attachment accident.

Stigmatized property – houses that are physically in good shape but psychologically damaged – are particularly difficult to sell. This is because material damage can be conclusively repaired, whereas, due to the beliefs or sensitivities of a potential resident, this type of problem may be unresolveable. That is why, in a less than stellar market, your best solution may be to pull back from the market and refinance instead.

Later on, when sales are better, you will have a better chance of finding a buyer who either does not believe in ghosts, or will be sufficiently inured to their hijinks, that they are willing to buy the house regardless. After all, you’ve lived with it this long. There are currently more options than ever regarding refinancing, so now is a great time to be looking into this.

As long as you are current on your exiting mortgage and are not in the negative as far as the value of your home is concerned, you should be in a very good position to refinance, which will extend the time you can comfortably spend in your existing house. Well, comfortable financially; refinancing has no proven effect on ghosts.