Another way to make a Foster City refinance work for you is to refinance for more than the balance remaining on your old mortgage -- in effect, tapping your home equity, or "cashing out," in mortgage speak. Thanks to favorable rates, you may be able to do so without boosting your monthly outlay. For example, at 8.5%, the payment on a $200,000, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is $1,538. But at 7.5%, that same payment lets you borrow nearly $20,000 more. The best use for the extra cash is to pay off any higher-rate loans you may have. Let's say that you are carrying a $15,000 car loan at 10% and making minimum payments on a $10,000 credit-card balance at 17%. Your monthly payments on those debts would total $680. Then assume you refinanced your mortgage, taking out an additional $25,000 to pay off your car and credit-card loans. Result: At 7.5%, your additional monthly mortgage payment would total only $175, so you would come out $505 ahead ($680-$175=$505).
