Quote Originally Posted by LorenS View Post
We just inquired about refinancing our mortgage. We had ~30% down when we purchased and have been paying a LOT of extra principal over the three years we've had the mortgage. We are still being asked to pay $500 for an appraisal, extra $$ to forgo escrow, hundreds of dollars in "document fees" as well as over 1% in "origination" fees. Since it's a refinance we are not eligible for the lowest rates either.

What totally takes the cake is that I have a "401k" account of sufficient value to pay this mortgage which is getting NO return. My money market account is paying absolutely nothing. -- The financial industry is using the IRS to hold my money hostage so they can loan it back to me at 4% "interest". And Republicans have the gall to call this "free market".
You might want to consider calling up some of the credit unions where you live and ask about their terms for refinancing. They typically won't have all the crooked fees typical of loans from commercial lenders. As for rates, assuming you have excellent credit, you should be able to get a very good rate. Not necessarily the absolute lowest of any lender in the country but one that's in the ballpark.

As for your 401K, if the plan administrator allows it, I believe you can borrow up to $50,000 from it although I don't know what the maximum allowable duration of such a loan is. It can't hurt to ask. Best case scenario is that you'll borrow $50,000 from yourself, lessening by $50,000 the amount you borrow from a bank, and pay the interest to yourself instead of a bank.