Home Equity Loans – second mortgage

Kate Ross asked:




There are many issues involved in this decision. These issues include the amount of money you can save on interests, the possibility to loose those savings due to changes in market conditions, the possibility to end up paying even more than what you projected, the possibility of being unable to repay the monthly installments and having to refinance your loan.

Home Equity Loans

Home equity loans are secured loans that guarantee the lender repayment of the loan with the remaining equity on your home. Equity is the difference between your home value and the outstanding debt guaranteed by the property (usually a home mortgage). The secured nature of these loans provides the borrower with many benefits.

For starters, with home equity loans you can obtain higher loan amounts than with unsecured loans. Moreover, you can obtain longer repayment programs and thus, lower monthly payments than with unsecured loans. But most importantly, these loans have lower costs because the interest rate charged is significantly lower than the rate charged for unsecured loans. All of this is due to the lower risk that the use of collateral implies for the lender.

Interest Rate

As Explained above, due to the lower risk, home equity loans feature lower rates than almost any other kind of financial product. These loans offer rates lower than credit cards, store cards, unsecured personal loans, pay day loans, cash advance loans, overdrawn agreements, etc. Probably the only loans that feature lower rates are home loans and some subsidized student and business loans.

Not only the interest rate is lower than almost every other financial product, it also comes in two shapes. You can obtain a home equity loan with a fixed interest rate or with a variable (adjustable) interest rate. There are some differences between these two kinds of interest rates than can be very important when it comes to deciding which loan best suits your needs.

Variable or Fixed

A fixed interest rate stays unaltered through the whole life of the loan which in turn implies fixed monthly payments over the whole life of the loan too. This provides a lot of certainty to the borrower that can budget the loan payments with confidence knowing that they will stay the same each month. But, it doesn’t provide such certainty to the lender who can suffer from inflation and loose money to a fixed rate. That’s why fixed rates are always higher than variable rates at any given time.

Variable rates on the other hand, will change every three or six months according to the market conditions. Almost always these changes are moderate and don’t alter monthly payments too much. However, if an increasing tendency subsists on the market, a variable rate can turn a home equity loan into a very onerous deal.

Bernice

Carrie Reeder asked:


Getting approved for a personal loan with recent or past credit problems may pose a problem. Because of credit blemishes, most lenders are hesitant to offer money to those with a low credit rating. Thus, acquiring funds for large expenses or emergencies is impossible. On the other hand, if you own a house, you may qualify for a home equity loan with poor credit.

What are Home Equity Loans?

Home equity loans are funds secured by your home?s equity. Because the cash is collateral-based, it is easier to qualify for these types of loans. Thus, individuals with poor and good credit may obtain a lump sum of money within a few days.

If applying for a home equity loan, you can receive funds up to the amount of your home?s equity. Therefore, if you owe $50,000 on the home loan, and your home?s assessment is $120,000, the equity would total $70,000. If acquiring a home equity loan, you may get approved for up to $70,000.

Why Get a Home Equity Loan?

Homeowners acquire home equity loans for assorted reasons. Debt consolidation is a motive for getting a home equity loan. Through debt consolidation, homeowners are able to shrink or reduce their debts. Use the money to payoff credit cards, consumer loans, auto loans, student loans, etc. Furthermore, home equity loans are ideal for making home improvements, taking a vacation, or paying for a child?s college tuition.

Home equity loans will create a second mortgage. Because home equity loan balances are smaller and the terms shorter, the monthly payments are less than first mortgages. Moreover, home equity loan balances are paid within ten to fifteen years.

Home Equity Loan Basics

For the most part, home equity loans have fixed rates. Thus, your monthly payments will remain the same for the period of the loan. If you have bad credit, these loans are the easiest to qualify for. Nonetheless, bad credit applicants should do everything possible to get the lowest rate.

When shopping for home equity loans, it is important to compare rates. Contact a variety of money sources. Completing online applications with mortgage brokers will provide you with multiple offers within minutes. Furthermore, you should manage your credit score. Review your credit report and check for inaccuracies. If possible, attempt to boost your score before applying for loan.



HARLAN

da_red12 asked:


I am currently in Chapter 13. I filed 10/04. I have a home with approx 100K in equity. I would like to pay my way out of BK at the 36 month mark (approx 16K) , pay off the second mortgage (which was down payment assistance, $7450) and pay off some of my student loans. Which will be better refinancing or HELOC? Will I even qualify for a HELOC while in BK? All responses will be appreciated

ALEXANDER

Ken Black asked:


Home equity loans are especially useful for homeowners that want to free up some of their capital tied up in the investment of their homes, and use it to their advantage. Here are the details.

These home refinance loans come in two main types, either of a one lump sum payment, or a line of equity credit that can be drawn on anytime.

Equity is up to 85% of the market value of your home, less what you already owe on it from your mortgage. For those who bought their homes some time ago and their homes have increased in value, this can be quite a considerable amount of money.

So let’s look at some of the advantages of having a home equity loan secured by your home:

1. Free Up Money – with a home equity loan, you can free up money that is tied up in your home, without having to sell it, giving you the opportunity to have things that you normally wouldn’t have the money to fund.

2. Flexibility – a home equity loan can be tailor-made to suit your personal needs, and budget. Some of the choices that you have include having ARM or fixed interest rates, lump sum equity paid to you, or a line of credit allowing you to use the money only when you need it, and pay interest only on what you have borrowed.

You can also negotiate the terms in years for your equity loan. This means that the longer that you take the loan out for, the less your repayments are.

3. Consolidate Debts – by having a home equity loan, you can consolidate all of your debts in the one loan, which means that you will be paying less on interest rates, and charges. Home equity for debt consolidation can also be used to lower monthly repayments on consolidated debt by taking the loan over a longer term.

Many people use home equity loans to consolidate consumer debts such as student loans, credit cards, store cards, and personal loans, which are unsecured credit that attract high interest rates.

4. Repair Credit – home refinance loans are also a great way to repair your credit. If you are unable to get credit because of a bad credit history, chances are, if you are able to afford the monthly repayments, you can still get the funds you need. This is because this kind of financing is secured by your home, making you, as a borrower, less of a risk to lending institutions.

Over time, you can repair your credit history by making regular repayments on time, which will increase the likelihood of being able to get more credit in the future.

5. Investments and Improvements

If you are looking for a way to improve the value of your home by doing some renovations, additions, or get deposit money to invest in other assets, an equity loan can be ideal.

Additionally, if you are planning to sell your home, but need to do some improvements prior to putting it on the market, an equity loan is also a wise choice.

As you can see, a home equity loan can enable you to do the things you want and need to do and make your life better. Look into this today.



AL