Refinance or Modify While It Is Still Possible

Interest rates have been very low for several years, and right now they are lower than ever, yet millions of mortgage borrowers who could profit from a refinance, haven’t. Similarly, millions of borrowers who are having trouble making their mortgage payments but want to remain in their homes could have their mortgages modified to make the payment affordable -- but haven’t. The reasons in both cases probably include apathy, resignation, and ignorance, but this article is only about ignorance. I find that many borrowers are even hazy about the difference between a refinance and a modification.

Refinance Versus Modification

In a refinance, you take out a new mortgage, either from your current lender or from a different one, and use the proceeds to pay off your existing mortgage. In a modification, the terms of your current mortgage are changed by your existing servicer, usually for the purpose of reducing the payment. Most often this involves an interest rate reduction, but it may also include a term extension and in some cases the loan balance may be reduced.

A refinance is a market-based transaction entered into by a lender who wants the new loan. A modification is an administrative measure designed to prevent the costs of a foreclosure. In both cases, however, the borrower must document an ability to make the new payment.

Refinance Profitably If You Can

In general, borrowers should refinance if a profitable refinance option is available to them. A refinancing will not drop a borrower’s credit score while a modification will. Refinancing borrowers can deal with their existing lenders but are free to shop alternatives. A modification is a lot more complicated, takes a lot more time, and borrowers are wholly dependent on their existing servicers, which means that they have no bargaining power.

Qualifying For a Refinance Versus Qualifying For a Modification

Declining home values have severely restricted the ability of many borrowers to refinance by eroding the equity in their homes. (Equity is property value less the mortgage balances). With an important exception noted below, borrowers who have negative equity cannot qualify. Borrowers with equity of 3% to 20% can qualify if they purchase mortgage insurance, which in some but not all cases will eliminate the profit from the refinance. Borrowers with equity of 20% or more are best positioned to refinance profitably. In contrast, insufficient or negative equity will not bar a modification.

A low credit score will also prevent a refinance but not a modification. Because lenders have become extremely risk-averse in the post-crisis market, credit scores have increased in importance and are related to equity. On an FHA mortgage, for example, the minimum score is usually 620, but a 620 score may require equity of 15%. If the borrower’s equity is the minimum of 3%, the required credit score is likely to be 660.

Borrowers who have suffered income declines to the point where the ratio of housing expense to income is viewed as excessively high, will have their refinance applications rejected. However, an income decline of this magnitude will not necessarily prevent a loan modification. On the contrary, an income decline that weakens the ability of the borrower to continue current payments, but still enables the borrower to afford lower payments, is the major problem loan modifications are designed to meet.

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