Is Mortgage Refinancing Worth It?

When President Obama made a stop in Albany on Tuesday, his "to do list" for Congress included a push for mortgage relief for homeowners who can't refinance.

Interest rates are at record lows.

Local mortgage brokers say now is the time to refinance a home if you haven't already done so.

Refinancing a home mortgage means you get to take advantage of those lower rates and possibly shave years off the term.

For some homeowners that means saving thousands of dollars.

"Everyone kept saying it wouldn't go any lower so we jumped in and got a good rate," said Craig Kaszuba, a homeowner.

Craig Kaszuba is in the process of refinancing his Hilton home - locking it in at a rate just over 3-percent.

His monthly payment went up about $70.

"It raised ours a touch but not enough to be concerned about it but it knocked 10 years off of my mortgage," said Kaszuba.

Michael Davis helped him refinance.

He is a loan officer with First Rochester Mortgage.

Lately, he's seen a lot of applications for refinancing come across his desk.

"Interest rates are at a 40-50 year all-time low," said Michael Davis, senior loan officer.

There are people who can't refinance - homeowners whose properties are worth less than what they owe.

"The lenders will not refinance them because they don't have any equity and they don't want to take that risk, so they are stuck with a higher interest rate," said Davis.

Davis says says a plan to change that could help.

"It certainly is going to help them stimulate the economy for them to have a lower interest rate, it will give them some more disposable income so they can use it in other areas," said Davis.

Kaszuba is looking forward to that extra income, especially when he retires.

"One of the largest bills people have is the mortgage payment so whatever the tools are or resources to help people out is a good thing," said Davis.

While Kaszuba will save thousands of dollars over the coming years, there are many more waiting to get help.

Senate Democrats have supported the measure to expand mortgage relief to more homeowners, but no bill has been written yet. That's because Republicans have not gotten on board with a measure that could be costly.