I have never posted at this site before, however, I have a question that I don't think has ever been addressed before and would appreciate your input on this. In light of the fact that there may be interruptions in the postal service, would it be a good idea to try to refinance my house locally? Also, my mortgage is with Chase Manhattan in a state far from my own. With the "sell" news yesterday on Chase, what is the meaning of that? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

-- Nancy (barbinst@wcta.net), May 25, 1999

Answers

Nancy,

Even if you do refinance locally, there is an almost certain chance that the local lender will sell your loan to a distant money center bank anyway. Unless, of course, you can get the lender to insert a clause in your contract preventing them from selling the loan, which is highly unlikely.

My mortgage, too, is with a money center bank far away, and I like that just fine. It makes it that much harder for them to reposess the house -- they have to do it via remote control. If confusion at the post office prevents your mortgage check from arriving, it will do the same to thousands or millions of other homeowners. Banks don't have the capacity to deal with a doubling of defaults, much less a hundredfold increase, which we will surely see. When it gets that bad, the problem shifts into new territory. What bank wants possession of a million houses? No way. They want cash flow and portfolio performance.

Don't even worry about this, Nancy. Just keep on preparing.

-- DMH (not@this.time), May 25, 1999.

Yes, I'd recommend refinancing locally. I switched to my local Credit Union for both my first and second mortgages. So, if there are troubles, I can go downtown and talk to the bank president face to face. That means a lot to me.

Also, I needed cash to fund my preparations, so refinancing with "cash back" made a lot of sense.

Bob

-- Bob (janebob99@aol.com), May 25, 1999.

Nancy - whether or not a mortgage company gets itself ready for Y2K should be irrelevant to you when making a decision on refinancing. Go with the bank that gives you the best deal no matter where they're located or their Y2K status. The deal you sign will stand........

Deano

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), May 25, 1999.