Home Equity Loans – second mortgage

rsc asked:


I have about $60,000 in my cash accounts (banking and savings). Some of this money is in a savings account that I would consider my emergency funds. I have a very generous retirement program of about 12% of my salary, which has been established for about the last 6 years. I am 33 years old, with a wife that has a job and a generous retirement plan and 1 baby.

I have some other small mutual funds that I started from savings which are 3-10 years old and have a current value of approximately 12,000 dollars.

I have a mortgage. We purchased it for $579,000, and we put down 10%. The first loan was a 7 year arm at a rate of 6.5%, and the second loan was a home equity line of credit for $ 57,900. The second loan is a variable rate, pegged to the prime rate. When I first started that loan, it was at 8.5 %, but it is now as low as 4.2 percent. This, of course, changes with the prime rate. The first loan I pay on principle, and the current debt service is $ 448,000. The second loan is interest only, and still has a principle balance of $57,900. The down turn in the housing market has left me with only about 2-4% equity in my home as the latest appraisal was only $520,000

My only other debt is a car loan which has a balance of 15,000 and a rate of 5.25%.

What should I do with this extra cash?

Do I:
1. Pay down that line of credit? (obviously this has a variable rate that can change, and is currently taking up 100% of my line of credit which impacts my credit score)
2. Buy a second property? There are some good deals out there for a second home (i.e. condo in Florida) or a rental property. This would be an investment property since we can get something very cheap, but the downside is managing the property.
3. Put it in an invest vehicle? A mutual fund, bonds, etc.
4. Leave it in my savings account?
5. Or something else?

How much of that cash should I keep in my account versus investing or paying of my debt?

SHELDON

Brian Jenkins asked:


Second mortgages and home loans are among the most popular ways for homeowners to get extra cash for important life events. Also known as home equity loans, second mortgages allow you to borrow money “against the equity in your home”. The concept sounds simple enough, but there are things that you should understand about second mortgages before you agree to take one out.

A second mortgage uses your home as collateral.

Ads for second mortgages don’t always make it clear that they are secured loans. That may sound good, but the security isn’t for you – it’s for the bank. When you take out a second mortgage, you are promising the lender that if you can’t make the payments; they can get their money back by selling your house. That is the single most important thing you need to understand about second mortgages. If you default on a second mortgage, you CAN lose your home.

There are good and bad reasons to take out a second mortgage.

Those same ads also often use tempting images to convince you that taking out a second mortgage for fun things is a good idea. Why wait for that cruise when you can put your house on the line to finance it? It’s best to use savings and earnings for fun things and luxuries. A second mortgage is a great way to fund things that will last and give you a return on your investment. Among the best reasons for a second mortgage are



paying for education and training

Education and training can make an enormous difference in your life or the lives of your children. Borrowing money to allow you to change your life for the better is a good investment.

making improvements or repairs to your home

Increasing the value of your home is another excellent reason for taking out a second mortgage on your property. This holds true whether you are making improvements and repairs in order to make your house more marketable, or simply to increase your own enjoyment of it. In either case, you’re using borrowed money to increase your own wealth, one of the best reasons for borrowing.

paying for once in a lifetime events

A wedding can set you back by tens of thousands of dollars. If you can find a second mortgage with payments that fit your monthly budget, taking out a loan against your home can allow you to pay for important lifetime events that you can’t pay for all at once. A better choice for this kind of purpose may be a home equity line of credit, though.



The amount that you can borrow is determined by the amount of equity you have.

The equity you have in your home is the difference between the amount that your home is worth and the amount that you still owe on your mortgage. Here’s a quick example to help you understand.

Suppose you bought a house for $200,000, and put down a down payment of $20,000. The day that your mortgage closes, your home equity is the same as your down payment – $200,000 (home value) – $180,000 (amount owed on mortgage) = $20,000 (equity). Now imagine that five years have passed, and you’ve made your payments faithfully. You’ve paid down $13,000 on your mortgage, and now owe $167,000 on it. Your home’s value has increased to $250,000. Your home equity is now $250,000 (home value) – $167,000 (amount owned on mortgage) = $83,000.

Depending on your credit and the housing market, you may find lenders who are willing to lend you up to 125% of your home equity, but it’s more common for them to lend 60-80% of home equity. Thus, with $83,000 in equity, you may be able to borrow from $49,800 to $103,750.

The interest rate that you’ll be offered is dependent on your credit rating.

As with any other loan, the interest rate on your second mortgage will depend on how good your credit rating is. The better your credit rating, the lower your interest rate will be. You can affect that interest rate by taking the time to clean up your credit before starting to look for a second mortgage.

Shopping around for second mortgage rates is always a good idea.

Don’t just take the first second mortgage that you’re offered, though. Every lender has different ways of factoring in credit ratings and other factors, so it’s definitely to your benefit to shop around and get several loan quotes before making a decision.

It can take several weeks to get a second mortgage approval, but there are ways you can speed up the process.

One of the best things you can do in the interests of speeding up the process of loan approval is to get your own home appraisal before applying for a second mortgage. It’s not foolproof, but many lenders will happily take your expert’s appraisal rather than pay for one of their own.



ELTON

Albert Alexander asked:


Everyone wants to know the answer to the same question. So how much can I get? How much you can borrow is directly related to your equity which is simply estimated by subtracting the outstanding balance you owe on the home from the current market value. Equity simply refers to the cash value that has grown in your home while you have been making your monthly payments over time. Equity loans enable homeowners to borrow money against their home’s calculated value.

At the same time as home equity loans are a great approach to free up extra cash which is tied up in your home, borrowers must be fully aware that they are using their home as collateral. If a situation arises and their loan obligations aren’t met, they could lose their home. Historically, home equity loans were strictly used for home repairs that would increase the value of your home. Nonetheless, these loans have become a feasible selection for large, non-home improvement related purchases or even for consolidating outstanding debts into one monthly payment at an affordable interest rate.

These loans, secured by real estate, are generally considered safer by lenders. Because of this your interest rates are likely lower than credit card rates or consumer loans. In addition, regardless of the rate, the interest on debt secured by the mortgage or lien on your personal residence is commonly tax-deductible. Please consult your accountant for more detailed information.

Equity loans are great in that they use the collateral of your home to secure the loan, helping you to get a better rate out of the deal and make smaller payments than you would to a credit card or even on a personal loan. Home equity loans can be used for consolidating consumer debt or covering a large expense such as a wedding, college tuition, or home renovations to your existing home. Home equity loans are desirable to borrowers because they oftentimes have a lower interest rate, they are easier to qualify for even if you have bad credit and payments on a home equity loan may be tax deductible.

Even if most lenders feel comfortable with home equity lending, and may be more liberal because they view home equity loans as comparatively safe, it’s still a loan. Lenders consider many factors such as your credit history, ability to repay the loan, and your homes equity (noted above) when making a decision on how much money to lend. Home equity lending, often referred to as a second mortgage or borrowing against your existing home, can open up a lot of avenues as a funding source for a current homeowner.

Because they normally have a lower interest rate, are easier to qualify for (even with weak credit) and the interest may be tax deductible, home equity loans are a great alternative for individuals. Home equity loans are, when all’s said and done, fixed rate home loans that allow you to take advantage of the money you’ve already invested in your home to finance larger debts at a typically lower interest rate than most revolving credit choices.

Home equity loans are a great option if you are sure of your ability to pay them off. Like anything else however, buyer beware. Hidden fees and confusing rate calculations can make a bad situation get even worse. Less reputable lenders frequently target people in vulnerable circumstances with troubled credit by proposing what appears to be an easy way out.



SHELTON

Grateful Believer asked:


Ok I’ll try to make this as short as possible (if it’s even possible)…

We have a first and a second mortgage on our home. I had developed somewhat of a friendship (via phone) with our broker over the years. He had done a 2 or 3 loans for me prior to the one’s I currently have. When we went into doing a good size remodel he did a 30 year fixed mortgage loan that was killing me financially during construction. So, during the end of construction May 05′ we refinanced into a Negative AM Loan and due to needing more $ to finish our project we took out a second in the amount of $25,000 ($20,0000 was what our contractor told us we needed for completion). The plan was that a Negative AM would give us a little extra cash if we needed it for the finishing touches. With this loan I could choose month to month to either make a Neg AM minimum payment, interest only payment, 30 year fixed or 15 year fixed payment. After a year we would refinance the 1st and 2nd into 1.

Well, I had called our broker 3-4 times in the months following the signing of papers concerning when the payment for the 2nd was due and for how much. 1st contact was about 1 month after completion of the loan to let him know I hadn’t recieved a statement for the 2nd. He said it was on his desk and he hadn’t gotten to it but will soon. I called at least 3 more times over the next few months and was told the same thing during the 2nd and 3rd contact. Then by the 4th contact he said don’t worry about it just appreciate it now. I thought ok I guess we’ll just deal with it later (yes, I know that sounds stupid and why would someone do that right?) I didn’t really think much of it because like I said we had developed somewhat of a friendship over the years. (And NO not sexual, I have never met the man in person and I am MARRIED)

A year came and went, then a year and a half came. I called him sometime in January or February 07′ to asked him when we were going to refinance the loans. He said let’s do it. I started the process of submitting all the paperwork and he ordered an appraisal which we paid for out of our pocket. The result was that we had plenty of equity to qualify but due to our credit scores at the time (which weren’t to bad but not great) he advised us to wait because the interest rates were continuing to drop and he was confident that we could get a better interest rate if we were to wait a little longer. We both agreed.

Another year went by. In January 08′ I called him again to start the process of refinancing. Again, I submitted the paperwork and paid for another apprasial. I shared my concern with him regarding the news of foreclosures and it making it harder for me to get refinanced. I let him know I didn’t want to lose my home. He understood my concern but was still confident and advised me not to worry. He wanted us to somehow cut our credit card debt down by 50%. He suggested to borrow money from our family or friends. Well, needless to say that was not possible. I don’t have any rich family members or friends that would let me borrow 6 or $7,000. This was so I could manipulate the balance of my close to being maxed out credit cards. So, that’s how we left it. I was to try and get my credit cards down. That was in March. I called him and July to let him know I wanted to get it done. He asked me to call him back next week. I agreed but didn’t. Not on purpose, but at my job, the summer is crazy.

Coincidentally, while our economy is going down the crapper, I recieved a phone call from him a couple of days ago letting me know we needed to come up with some kind of plan, he said I needed to come up with atleast $15,000 in 30 days!!!! If I do that he will wait on the rest so I can continue to pay down my debts and refinance me later. He told me if I didn’t, we would have to sell our house because, at this time I still have enough equity to pay him off.

So, after this long story my question is… can he force us to sell our home? I have been loyal in paying my 1st on time without default. I don’t have a problem paying him back, I did borrow the money. It’s not like I’ve ignored the 2nd completely either. I have looked through my paperwork and it doesn’t have any payment address or who to make the payment out to. Can he just all of a sudden demand this money to be paid to him? Can he force my family out on the streets? For a $25,000 debt I had inquired about a number of times and a first that has no default against it.

ENRIQUE

Albert Alexander asked:


Home equity loans are sometimes used for consolidating consumer debt or covering a large expense such as a wedding, college expenses, or home repairs to your existing home. Home equity loans are great in that they use the collateral already invested in your home to secure the loan, allowing you to get a better rate out of the deal and make smaller payments than you would to a credit card or even on a personal loan. Home equity loans are desirable to borrowers because they oftentimes have a lower interest rate, they are easier to qualify for even if you have bad credit and your monthly payments on a home equity loan may be tax deductible.

In the past, home equity loans were more often than not used for home upgrades that would raise the value of your home. Nevertheless, these loans have become a feasible option for large, non-home improvement related purchases or even for consolidating outstanding debts into one monthly payment at an affordable interest rate. Even as home equity loans are a great means to release extra cash which is tied up in your home, borrowers must be fully aware that they are using their home as collateral. If a situation arises and their loan requirements aren’t met, they could lose their house.

Lenders consider several factors such as your credit history, ability to repay the loan, and your homes equity (noted above) when deciding how much money to lend. Although the chances of your approving for an equity loan may increase, you’re not going to get a complete pass on the “process”. Lenders will still have to review the credit history of potential borrowers to settle on their credit worthiness. Lenders will still have to review the credit history of potential borrowers to settle on their credit worthiness. Lenders will still have to review the credit history of potential borrowers to settle on their credit worthiness.

So how much can you get? The amount of your loan is tied to the equity in your home with is simply determined by subtracting the amount owed on the home from the current market value. Equity loans enable homeowners to borrow money against their home’s calculated value. The “equity” merely refers to the cash value that has grown in your house because you have been making your monthly payments over time.

Equity loans, secured by real estate, are normally deemed safer by lenders. Because of this your interest rates are likely lower than credit card rates or even consumer loans. Additionally, regardless of the rate, the interest on debt secured by the mortgage or lien on your personal residence is commonly tax-deductible. Please consult your accountant for more detailed information. Home equity loans are, essentially, fixed rate home loans that enable you to take advantage of the money you’ve already invested in your home to finance larger debts at a lower interest rate than most revolving credit options. Home equity lending, often referred to as a second mortgage or borrowing against your existing home, can open up a lot of avenues as a funding source for a current homeowner..

When all is said and done, home equity loans are a great option if you are confident in your ability to pay them off. Because they normally have a lower interest rate, are less difficult to qualify for (even with poor credit) and the interest may be tax deductible, home equity loans are a great alternative for homeowners. Like anything else however, buyer beware. Less reputable lenders frequently target people in vulnerable circumstances with troubled credit by suggesting what appears to be an easy solution. Hidden fees and confusing rate calculations can make a bad situation get worse.



RUBEN