Refinancing is NOT relatively simple but you may not be stuck. Maybe you’ve been talking to the wrong people.
With a balance of $470K you will need an appraisal of $587,500 to have 20% equity(not $570k)
Only comparing the payment amounts is a HUGE HUGE HUGE mistake.
Historically 4.625% ‘ain’t so bad’ but in today’s market it is obscene.It is foolish to discuss averages.
If you don’t qualify, you have no option, period.
If you do qualify, you have the option of staying in a higher interest rate forever and wasting tens of thousands of dollars in interest
OR
Refinancing to a lower rate with the higher FHA MIP premium, that will go away some day, leaving you with a lower rate for the life of your loan.
(You can discuss the loss of deducting the interest
with your tax advisor)
How long do you plan on ‘owning’ the house ?
Willing to bring in any cash to bring down your loan amount ?
FHA is a disaster/train wreck.
If your house will appraise for $522K+ you may have
a better option IF you can qualify based on guidelines.
