Archive for February, 2011

Are architect or permit fees considered part of “construction costs” for home equity loans?

Posted in United States on 02/27/2011 10:00 pm by admin
Joe asked:


We plan to use a home equity loan to rebuild our studio, putting the loan money in a separate bank account and using that account solely for “construction costs” to ensure the interest remains tax-deductible.

Question 1: We’re paying an architect to design the building and we have to pay the city a permit fee to review and approve the design. Are these two fees considered part of the “construction costs” of a building so we can use the loan to pay these without worrying about the IRS coming after us?

Question 2: Given this scenario, would it be wiser to use a Home Equity Line of Credit so we only borrow what we need when we need it? My concern (as always) is variable interest rates on the lines of credit, so I’d get a lower interest rate today, but it might be higher next year.

Thanks!

Joe

Leon

 

What Are Home Equity Loans and Should I Get One?

Posted in Finance on 02/26/2011 10:31 am by admin
Nicholas W Partridge asked:




Home equity loans are a type of loan in which the borrower uses their own home’s equity as collateral. These loans are very useful for financing big expenses, such as education, medical bills or repairs to your home. It creates what is called a lien against the borrowers home, and therefore reduces the actual equity of the home.

Most home equity loans require a very good to excellent credit history and a reasonable loan-to-value ratio. In some areas, these loans are referred to as second mortgages.

Many people get confused between these loans and the home equity line of credit, the difference being that a line of credit can be drawn upon for funds at any time and often comes with an adjustable interest rate, whereas a house equity loan is a one time fixed lump-sum, usually with a fixed interest rate.

As for whether or not this type of loan is suitable for you really depends on your circumstances. If you have a lot of equity built up in your home and you’d like to release some of it, then using your equity is probably a good option. Just be aware that banks view these loans as slightly more risky than other types of loans, and will therefore charge a higher interest rate. It’s generally advised to use the funds for major necessities only, as opposed to things like holidays or boats.

Conclusion

Home Equity Loans are great for those of us who have nearly paid off their homes and are looking for quick funds to renovate the home, pay off some medical bills or other larger expenses.

Antonio
 

Home Equity Loans With Bad Credit

Posted in Finance on 02/26/2011 07:00 am by admin
Zeeshan Syed asked:




Getting home equity loans with bad credit is not really a big deal. In reality, this is easier than you might think. This article contains some information that will help learn some of the the hows and whys invovled in getting home equity loan with bad credit.

It is commonly assumed that if you have bad credit, you will not quality for loans. Be it auto loans, personal loans, construction loans or home loans etc. This is not necessarilty true, especially when it comes home equity loans with bad credit. Home equity loans borrows from the equity that you already possess in your home. Most of the creditors or lenders, however you call them, they are actually more than willing to take this risk of providing you a loan even with bad credit. Why? That’s because they know that, if required, they will still be able to take over your home and get their money so for them it’s a pretty safe game isn’t it?

If you are concerned about getting home equity loans with bad credit then here is some information that will help you feel better and be less worried:

Getting approved for home equity loan is easy.

Even if you have a bad credit, qualifying for home equity loans is not that hard. The only thing your bad credit score will do is that it makes sure that you end up paying higher interest rates than you actually would if you had a good credit score. While this may not sound pleasing but it is better than not qualifying for the loan at all.

Creditors want business with you

A number of lenders are out there who will be looking forward working around your credit issues and problems. In fact, the majority of the lenders today, known as sub-prime lenders are out there, waiting for people like you and with issues like you have, to come and get in touch with them. You can find such sub-prime lenders online by doing a little search on different search engines or by browsing through our website. The sub-prime lenders specialize in getting loans for people who have bad credit. If you work with these kind of lenders, you will increase your chances of getting approved quickly and finding a home equity loan program that suits your financial situation and needs.

Sean
 

5 Steps To Finding Home Loans And Bad-Credit-OK-Home Loans

Posted in Finance on 02/19/2011 12:51 pm by admin
Robbie T. James asked:




Home loans are absolutely necessary if you want to buy a home of your own. Only a tiny percentage of the home-buying public buy their house using cash – and that is usually when they are downsizing from a large home to a smaller one. The percentage who buy with 100% cash is even smaller among first-time home buyers.

When you are out to buy a home, it is useful to learn the ropes in terms of what you need to prepare and how to search for the right home mortgage deal. It is especially important to learn how to shop for a home if you have a bad credit score.

If you are looking for home loans, and bad-credit-OK home loans in particular, here are 5 steps to finding the best deal:

1. Finding a deal on a home loan means knowing how and where to look:

The biggest mistake that would-be home buyers make when looking for a deal on a home is to just start calling around to average home mortgage lenders. If you follow this method, you are basically putty in their hands. And, you probably will not end up with the best-possible deal.

2. Start by getting a realistic sense of your credit score:

Start the application process by pulling your credit report with the three major credit bureaus. Make sure you take note of not only your scores, but also any reporting errors that show up on any of the reports. Be sure to get those removed right away, as doing so will have a positive effect on your credit score.

3. If you have a bad credit score, look for a special kind of home loan lender:

Over 95% of lenders specialize in working with people with average, good or excellent credit. If you have a bad credit score, you will benefit greatly from applying solely with bad-credit-OK lenders. They specialize in finding ways to determine your creditworthiness even when your credit score itself is low.

4. Research lenders’ websites and online discussion boards:

Now, put together a list of multiple bad credit home mortgage lenders. Then, do your research by examining their websites. Also, have a look at discussion boards and chat rooms and do searches for their names. Find out if anything good or bad has been said about them recently.

5. Spend the time to get pre-approval with 3-5 home loan lenders:

Finally, create a shortlist of at least 3 lenders and start applying. Be sure to take the time to apply to all of the ones on your candidate list.

Take these 5 steps to finding home loans and bad-credit-OK home loans.

Henry
 

How Home Equity Loans Work – Home Equity Loan Questions Answered

Posted in Finance on 02/18/2011 05:04 pm by admin
Max Suther asked:




Home equity loans are a great alternative if you need to borrow large sums of money or if your credit score is not that great. By putting up you home as collateral, you can borrow most of the equity you have built up over the years.

Banks like to write home equity loans because they know the value of your home and know that they can collect should you default on the loan. Of course you have a great incentive to keep your payments current because it is your home that is in risk.

The good points of home equity loans

 

Home Equity Loans – Tapping into Home’s Equity

Posted in Finance on 02/16/2011 09:38 am by admin
Carrie Reeder asked:




A home equity loan makes it possible for homeowners to gain access to their home’s equity without selling the property. Traditionally, homeowners would have to sell their primary residence in order to access the equity. The money could be used as down payment on a new residence, or used to payoff debts. Fortunately, moving is no longer the only option for tapping into one’s equity.

How is Home Equity Gained?

A home’s equity is the difference between the mortgage amount owed and the market value of a property. Homes and properties gain equity in one of two ways. For starters, as homeowners submit mortgage payments, the overall balance on their mortgage loan is reduced. Secondly, homes acquire equity as a result of rising home values. Within the past two to three years, many housing markets across the nation have witnessed phenomenal housing increases. For this matter, many homeowners have acquired unbelievable equity amounts in a short period.

Purpose of Home Equity Loans

Each homeowner’s reason for acquiring a home equity loan will vary. Common reasons include using the money to eliminate high interest debts. Many people set a goal of becoming debt free. However, due to high finance fees on credit cards, reducing the balance is extremely difficult. In most cases, a lump sum of money is required. Home equity loans provide the required cash.

Additionally, home equity loans are perfect for upgrading or making improvements to a real estate property. Other reasons may include building a cash reserve, starting a business, or paying for a child’s education expense.

Interest Rates on a Home Equity Loan

The most appealing feature of home equity loans are the low rates. Granted, the rate paid on an equity loan will be slightly higher than a first mortgage. Nevertheless, the interest rate is dramatically less than those for credit cards and other loans. Furthermore, home equity loans have short, fixed terms. If using the loan to consolidate debts, homeowners receive an estimated payoff time for their debts. On average, home equity loans can be repaid in as little as three to seven years. Here is a list of recommended Home Equity Lender online. It’s important to use a reputable lender online to make sure your personal information is secure.

Elizabeth
 

What happens with Home equity loans and lines of credit if you file bankruptcy?

Posted in Personal Finance on 02/15/2011 10:34 am by admin
Clinton W asked:


Would these debts be “forgiven” also and if so, does this affect your house which was used to achieve the loan?

Gabriel
 

Poor Credit Home Equity Loans

Posted in Finance on 02/14/2011 03:52 pm by admin
Rick Taylow asked:




Poor credit home equity loans are quite easy to get – even if you have terrible credit. This is because these types of loans are considered secured loans. A bank will be willing to give you a poor credit home equity loan because that loan is backed by the equity on your home. The bank is essentially only giving you money that you already have trapped in the equity of your home.

This means that you can get bad credit equity loans fairly easily. Since you shouldn’t have a problem getting one of these loans, it really comes down to choosing the best lender. You should be consistent when you look around and shop around for a lender who will offer you the best interest rates possible. This means you should not only visit a single bank to take out a home equity loan – you should visit at least 6 different banking institutions.

You will find that the interest rates on home equity loans will be fairly standard, but there may be some slight variation from institution to institution. Indeed, these variations in interest rates can save you a lot of money. Of course, the best way to ensure you get the best poor credit home equity loan interest rate will be to actually have good credit. If you have good credit, you can always get the cheapest interest rates.

Now, you do have to be careful with this type of loan. If you are unable to make the loan payments, the bank will foreclose your home to get their money back. You don’t want to end up homeless, so make sure you only take out this loan if you can afford the payments!

Samantha
 

Variable Interest Rate Home Equity Loans

Posted in Finance on 02/10/2011 08:23 am by admin
Arturo Ronzon asked:




There are many issues involved with the application for a loan and also the approval of loans, there are also different kinds of loans available. The home equity loan is one of the different kinds of loans which involve the using of the home’s equity to get desired funds to meet the needs of the borrower. The lender gives out money to gain more money in return, and the best avenue for the lender to gain is through the interest rate attached to the loan, this is negotiable between the lender and borrower and an agreement is reached. The loan can be a fixed or variable interest home equity loan; this goes a long way to determine the other factors affecting the loan.

The variable or adjustable interest rate home equity loan is another type of home equity loan, this means that the interest rate is not stable and is subject to change at any time throughout the life of the loan. In this kind of situation the amount given is between the ranges of 80 – 100 percent of the equity of your home. This means that if the amount invested in your home is one hundred thousand dollars, the amount of the home equity loan will vary between eighty to a hundred thousand dollars. It should be noted here that the money is divided into different small installment, unlike the case of the fixed rate.

Most times, the adjustable interest rate home equity loan is more expensive to pay back than the fixed rate loans. This is because the interest rate is ever changing, most lenders utilize this opportunity to always hike the interest rates of loans offered; making it difficult for borrowers to actually determine what the monthly pay backs will be like, and with this you will end up paying more. In fact the total amount of payback cannot be determined at the beginning, making it impossible to plan.

Comparing the fixed interest with the variable/adjustable interest rate home equity loan, it will be discovered that the fixed rate is better since it enables one to budget, planning the loan repayment well since there is a knowledge of the total amount of payback, unlike the variable rates that makes it hard to plan because there is no definite total payback amount. But, with the variable rate loan, one can collect money at different times in small installments making one able to spend the money of the loan well, since the amount is used bit by bit to actualize the borrower’s desire.

Clifford
 

Mobile Home Equity Loans For People With Bad Credit History

Posted in Finance on 02/08/2011 11:43 am by admin
Blake Fisher asked:




If you have bad credit or even just below-average credit then you probably have realized first-hand just how difficult it is to get pretty much any kind of loan. Lenders simply view people with bad credit scores as high-risk individuals, and there isn’t much you can do to change this perception. If you own a mobile home and you have built up some considerable equity in your property then you may be interested in a mobile home equity loan. A mobile home equity loan can give you a loan that can be secured by the equity you have built up in your mobile residence, and like other loans, whether you get approved or not will depend heavily on your credit.

The good news is that there are lenders that supply all kinds of loans for people with bad credit histories, and some of these lenders even specialize in providing niche-type loans such as mobile home equity loans. These types of lenders will listen to your explanation as to why your credit is so bad, and they will typically grant you a pass in terms of approval as long as you can meet the remainder of their requirements. When it comes to home equity loans, these types of lenders like to see that you have a good employment history, and this should translate into a demonstrable and consistent income that you can show the lender.

Once these sorts of lenders see that you have enough money leftover each month to make the payment on your mobile loan they will then make exceptions if you don’t have the best credit in the world. Lenders still don’t like to see bankruptcies and other sorts of delinquencies and late-payments on the credit report but if you can show that you can repay the loan each month they may be able to overlook these kinds of things as well. Some of these lenders will not be able to make a mobile loan if your mobile unit isn’t built on a solid foundation, so make sure this is in place before you start to go out and apply to a bunch of lenders. Work on your credit and the remainder of your application and you will eventually get that mobile home equity loan with no problem.

Manuel
 
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