Home Equity Loans - second mortgage

Susan Willis asked:




Having an even 3-point better interest rate on your home equity loan can save you over $1,000 in annual debt payments (on a loan of $50,000). Here are 4 tips for getting the best-possible home equity loan rates.

Tip #1: Pull your credit report: Even though your loan will be lent against the equity in your home as collateral, the rate for which you are eligible is still based largely upon your credit score. If you have not pulled your credit score in months or years, go ahead and do so now. You can get a free copy of your report at the Federal Trade Commission-authorized Web site.

Tip #2: Polish your credit score: If you have poor or fair credit, improving your credit score just 50 points or so can save you $1,000 or more in annual home equity loan payments. While an applicant with good credit might have a rate of 1/2 point below prime, someone with fair or poor credit might pay 1 to 5 points over the prime rate. Bonus: borrowers with better credit can often avoid application or appraisal fees as well, which can add up to significant savings.

Tip #3: Consider a home equity line of credit as an alternative: Before you apply for a home equity loan, consider a home equity line of credit as well. This is a great option if you are not sure exactly how much you will be borrowing over the next couple of years. The potential risk factor is that the rate is not fixed and as it is usually tied to the prime rate.

Tip #4: Compare rates: Once your credit score is in tip-top shape and you have decided that a home equity loan is your best option for securing cash, I suggest starting with your current mortgage lender to find out their best rate. Then, use that as a point of comparison and go online to shop for rates. There are a number Web sites that allow you to compare rates. Before selecting a loan on a given site, be sure to read the fine print about associated costs and fees.

For homeowners, a home equity loan can be a great way to secure cash. To get the best rate, be sure to check and then improve your credit score. Once you have decided that the timing is right to apply for a loan, shop for rates on any credible Web site that will allow you to compare among multiple lenders. And, be sure to read the fine print before signing on the dotted line.

Jessie

Ernesto Maitim asked:




Everyone is aware about the rising prices of our basic everyday requirements, food, clothing and even homes. That is why home and property owners are trying to find the best deals when it comes to home equity loan rates for their properties. Of course, the best deal means a value that is still found within the capacity of the owner to pay back the equity loan.

Prospective clients are becoming very wise nowadays, and this means really on a serious lookout for sources and companies that will offer them only the most appropriate and beneficial deals. Because of this, the lenders work hard in order to find good home equity leads. The Internet are the best sources of leads in the home loan business, making the generation of worthy leads a much easier task to do nowadays.

There are certain guidelines that lenders must follow when looking for good home equity leads. As we all know, the monetary value of home properties have really become sky high during the last few years. This is a fact that will help lenders generate home loan leads as the property owners are trying to find good home equity loan rates and obtain a nice loan that they can use for many important expenses such as for home improvement, car financing, to name a few.

Basically, home equity loans are such loans that are obtained when utilizing the homes of the borrowers as their collateral. Hence, it is only logical for lenders to make a fair evaluation of the property of the client, and arrive at the best possible home equity loan rates. This will make the client decide on selecting the lender that has the best and most suitable offer. Lenders, while in the business to make profit, must still not sacrifice fairness in dealing with client borrowers.

Melvin

Joel Gray asked:


If you are planning on buying your dream home, a second or vacation home, or even planning to relocate with a new home purchase, there are definitely a variety of home loan options to check out.

Many banks, financial institutions and private lenders offer home loans; home equity loans, private loans or equity line of credit loans. All good lending programs will consider this, as it helps you to borrow the money, just by using your home on collateral basis.

What is equity?

In financial jargon, it is said to be the difference between the cost of home and how much you owe on the mortgage or combined mortgages, in the case where you have a second mortgage out on the property. In other words the value of your home is the equity you have built into it.

Home Equity Loan Rates

You can find out what current home equity loan rates are, compare them with several different financial institutions and use handy online calculators at BankRate.com: http://bankrate.com . For example, as per the current statistics of the Bank of America, their home equity loan interest rates are as follows:

1. 30 year with a fixed rate is 5.81 percent on the amount taken as loan.

2. 15 year with a fixed rate is 5.51 percent on the amount taken as loan.

3. 30 year with a fixed jumbo is 6.12 percent on the amount taken as loan.

4. 15 year with a fixed jumbo is 5.78 percent on the amount taken as loan.

The monthly payment of a loan is calculated to be around $400 to $1000.

Home Improvement Loan

If you want to fix up your home, then you will want to search for information on a home improvement loan. These types of loans are designed for the people who want to finance their home repairs, renovation of their homes, room additions to their old homes, etc. without going for equity loans.

The benefits for this kind of loans are:

No or limited requirement of collateral.

Interest rates are competitive and are lower than line of credit loans.

Approval of loans is faster

Information of the loan and the transfer of the balance both are can be done through online banking.

Transfer of funds for the payment of loans can be done through online banking access.

Now that you have been shown the ins and outs of getting a home loan, what do you think that next thing you should do is?

So get a loan and get ready to move into your dream home today!



ROOSEVELT

Julian Lim asked:


  

A home equity loan or home equity mortgage is an effective second mortgage on your home, taken out after you have developed some equity in your home. For example, if you purchase a home for $200,000 and you have paid $40,000 over the years against the loan principal and the market value for the home is now $250,000, you now have equity in the home of $90,000.  Theoretically, you could apply for a $90,000 loan against the equity, but in practice, most lenders prefer to keep the loan at 80% loan to value or, in this case $187,500.  In this example, a loan for $27,500 could be approved.

 

Definitions

 

Some of the definitions that you will need to be familiar with include equity, mortgage, interest rate, loan fees, loan type, principal and amortization.  If you don’t understand the meaning of these words and others insist on an explanation from the loan broker or lender.  You can also do the research yourself so that you are certain you understand the difference between an ARM and a fixed rate loan and why you should choose one or the other, depending upon your circumstances. There are some very good primer level books and classes on almost any subject you can name out on the internet including that of a home equity loan.

 

Terms

 

In the case of a home equity mortgage, the word ‘terms’ can mean ‘words’ or it can mean the length of time before the loan is paid off.  A loan against the equity of your home often will have a longer term than a personal loan.  You may see terms of 15 years, 20 years, even 30 or 40 year terms on the loan.  Of course, the longer the term, the more money in interest you will be charged and the larger the percentage of funds you pay are for the privilege of using the money rather than for the money itself.

 

Rates

 

The home equity loan rates are also called interest rate or interest. Interest rates are usually structured in one of two ways, although there are other types of loans as well.  The fixed rate loans set an interest rate up front and it remains in effect throughout the term of the loan.  The adjustable rate mortgage loan has an interest rate that will vary according to a predetermined index or formula.  For example the rate may be two point above prime rate, adjustable not more than twice every two years.  These requirements will vary depending upon the economy of the time.

 

Advantages and Disadvantages

 

A home equity loan or home equity mortgage has the advantage of being a lump sum of money that you can use in any way you see fit–presumably legal.  It has the disadvantage of increasing your debt loan and increasing the cost of money sometimes significantly. For example taking out was is actually a second mortgage on your home may raise your debt to value level to the point where private mortgage insurance is mandated by many lenders.  This can add thousands of dollars to the repayment amount over the years.

 



GIOVANNI