Randy Johnson, president of Independence Mortgage Co. in Newport Beach, author of “How to Save Thousands of Dollars on Your Home Mortgage” and a mortgage broker since 1983, answers questions…

Ready in Dana Point asks:
Q. I am 70, still working, and have an interest-only loan at 5% which expires in September of 2009. I am looking to get a reverse mortgage by then so as to not have a house payment and/or realize some cash as well. My loan is $305,000 and the house’s approximate value is $780,000. What are my options?

A. Reverse mortgages are in a field unto themselves and are unlike regular mortgages. You need to talk with an expert in that field, but there is a great website that is the best place to get many of your questions answered. See it HERE.

Kimble in Orange County asks:
Q. Is it worth it to refinance our home with current mortgage rates? We bought our house in May 2008. The mortgage is $581,000 at 6.5% and house value is about $850,000.

A. Absolutely! I know you have had your loan less than a year, but it is irrelevant. Let’s say you can refinance at 5%. You will save 1.5% = $8,700 per year. That’s a lot of money. At my company, transactions exactly like yours make up most of our activity today.

That’s it. If you want Johnson to answer a question, email it to Mathew Padilla at mapadilla(at)ocregister.com. Include your name or nickname and the city you live in — that information will be published with your question.

Johnson will answer up to three questions each week, so keep checking back for a response. If many questions are submitted, it could take a while to get a response, or he may never get to it. Also, readers keep submitting variations on the same question, which has already been answered: what to do when you can no longer afford your mortgage. I have decided not to publish most of those questions, because they are repetitive, although I appreciate the difficult situation many homeowners are in these days.

Read prior questions and answers by clicking on the headlines below…

• Loan doors open for serial housing investors
• Forget dodging refinance fees
• No job, no refinancing
• Avoiding a rate hit on an investment property
• Who qualifies for Obama’s mortgage refinance plan?
• Paying off a mortgage vs. refinancing
• Mortgage problems of the wealthy
• The skinny on 40-year mortgages
• Refinancing questions and answers
• How to buy with little money down
• Do banks renegotiate mortgages for ‘good’ borrowers?
• Is it time to buy a rental property?
• Caution urged on mortgages that fund retirement
• Refinancing can be tricky if your home was recently for sale
• Shopping for lowest rate is dumb way to get a mortgage
• Speedy mortgage payoffs could cost you
• Paying your mortgage may be the best use of your money
• A ‘good’ borrower these days is someone who…
• When insurers kill your mortgage application
• Mortgage insurance companies not giving breaks
• How price reductions work when Uncle Sam owns a foreclosure
• How long should we wait to refinance?
• Can you be too old to get a mortgage?
• Why aren’t foreclosures cheaper?
• When you can’t afford your mortgage
• How much to put down and other mortgage answers

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