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tryingtogetby

Should I Have Attorney for Refinancing?

tryingtogetby
10 years ago

I am refinancing my mortgage with my current lender (big bank). It is a no-cost refinancing and they are sending a notary to have my wife and me sign the papers next week. All terms of the new loan will be the same as the old, except for the interest rate and the loan term. Everything is being handling by the bank - all I have to do is show up with a pen.

Should I have my attorney present? I'm pretty good with numbers and am familiar with contracts. Some say it would be a good idea, while others say it's a waste of money. There is a 3-day recision period after we close in which to review the documents.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Comments (5)

  • terezosa / terriks
    10 years ago

    Waste of money to me...

  • azmom
    10 years ago

    If you are good with numbers and familiar with contracts, why do you need an attorney?

    We always asked lenders to send us the document so that we could review it cover to cover prior to signning. We have found errors about 20% of the time. The last refinance the term was off by 5 years.

  • kirkhall
    10 years ago

    Nah. Just actually read it in your 3 days time and if there are errors, rescind (and redo).

  • artemis78
    10 years ago

    We've always had the lender provide at least the basic papers 24 hours before closing (sometimes the full packet, which is pages and pages!) It's a lot of paperwork, but pretty straightforward, so if you are familiar with contracts, it should be no problem. Major things to check for are rate, term, and prepayment penalty, which will appear in multiple places and should all match up. The closing cost worksheet may or may not be 100% correct at closing but should at least make sense (sometimes it uses estimates that are no longer accurate because closing date has changed or you've made an additional payment, but the title company should check this upon paying off the balance and either they or the bank will refund any overage). The notaries who have come to do our refinance signings have always been relatively well versed in the paperwork and able to answer questions, too.

  • tryingtogetby
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thank you all for your thoughts. It is one of the big banks, so I imagine the process must be pretty straightforward. I just don't want to inadvertently sign my house over to someone else!