I'm not sure whether to put this here in Ask a Mustacian or in Real Estate
This is question not about FIRE, but I believe the members of this community have a lot of useful knowledge.
I am looking at helping my mother-in-law possibly refinance.
Current situation:
Mortgage principle, $108,000
Home value (zillow so I don't believe it, $342,000). I'd be more inclined with around $260,000
Interest rate: 3.75 %
15 year term, started Jan 2017, so paid off at this rate in 2032.
Credit score around 680 (two collections against her).
She is 75+ years old, widowed and gets minimal SS (approx $1,400 p/m). She has $110,000 in retirement savings that she draws approx $1,100 monthly. That's about it for income.
I recently (2017) managed to get here a refinance under the terms of the Making Homes Affordable Act (HAMP?) so got her interest rate down form 5+ %, saving her approx $100 p/m. This has stopped her going into the red every month and her family "bailing her out".
Her spending habits quite frankly aren't going to change, and this topic is not about that.
What I would like advice on, is should I try to have her refinance a second time?
I could try to go for a 10/15/30 year fixed rate.
10 year - payments about the same, but paid off little quicker.
15 year - lower payments, slightly longer to pay off
30 year - much lower payments, but obviously paying more over the long term.
As she ages more, she'll likely need more healthcare (she gets Medicaid I believe, but missed signing up for part B in time - as a recently naturalize US citizen, I have no knowledge about medicare signup just yet, so don't fully understand what that means),
If we do end up saving, I hope to reduce her retirement monthly payment so that it can stretch a little further and have contingency for potential future care needs.
Any advice out there?
