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Home Equity Loan ? When Does Refinancing Make Sense?
For the last two years, interest rates have been much lower than anytime during the last thirty years. This has resulted in an unprecedented boom in real estate sales, home refinancing and home equity lending, as borrowers try to take advantage of these rates for the long term. But refinancing or even borrowing against your home's equity may not make sense for everyone. When is it a good idea to refinance your home? When is it not advisable? Traditionally, lenders advised homeowners not to refinance unless doing so would lower the interest rate on the loan by 1-2%. While anyone who can save 2% on their interest rate would almost certainly benefit from doing so, others might find refinancing worthwhile even with a smaller reduction in the interest rate. Increased competition among lenders has brought the costs of refinancing down in recent years, so homeowners can realize a significant reduction in their home payments with reductions of ˝% or so, depending on the size of their mortgage. The key to whether or not refinancing makes sense is how long the homeowner intends to remain in his or her home. The costs of the refinancing, which can run $1000-2000, are amortized over the life of the loan. For many people, a reduction of $50 or more in the house payment would be more than enough to justify a new mortgage. If payments cannot be reduced by at least that much, or if the homeowner plans to live in the home only a short while, refinancing may not be a good option. Refinancing may also make sense for those with Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs.) At the moment, at 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is quite competitive with an ARM, and may actually be cheaper. With rates at historic lows, an ARM can only adjust upward, making it a less desirable choice in comparison with a fixed-rate loan. Anyone considering a home remodeling project or debt consolidation might ordinarily think of a home equity loan or line of credit. These are often wise choices, as they offer deductible interest and great repayment flexibility. On the other hand, a chance to obtain a 30-year loan at 5% might make a complete refinancing with a cash-out option a better choice, as home equity rates are somewhat higher than first mortgages. A new mortgage might also make sense for anyone with a second mortgage or a piggyback loan. A piggyback loan is a second loan used at the time of a home's purchase to help the buyer avoid paying the sometimes-expensive private mortgage insurance. Simultaneous payments on two mortgages will be higher than paying on one, so this might be a great time to roll them together on a refinance. The same applies to anyone carrying a large credit card balance; that money could be rolled into a home loan with deductible interest at a lower rate. Anyone considering such a move should be careful, however, as failure to repay that debt could lead to home foreclosure. Now is a great time for any homeowner to consider whether or not a new mortgage could help lower their payments. With interest rates as low as they are now, the timing is great, and there's nowhere for the rates to go but up. ©Copyright 2005 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including End-Your-Debt.com, a Website devoted to debt consolidation and credit counseling information and HomeEquityHelp.net, a site devoted to information on mortgages and home equity loans.
Home Equity Loan ? Not Just For Home Repairs, And Tax Deductible, Too! Thanks to the combination of low interest rates and skyrocketing property values, home equity loans are more popular than ever. The value of home equity loans taken out by Americans has doubled in the last two years, and the market for them shows no signs of slowing down. Obtaining a home equity loan is usually a fairly simple process involving some paperwork, a credit check, and a home appraisal, and the entire process can often be done in just a few weeks. Lenders will often lend up to 80% of the value of the home's equity, and some lenders will even lend up to 125% of a home's equity.Home equity loans are quite useful, and have several advantage...
Home Equity Loans Can Provide Cash In A Hurry Think About the Long Term. Estimate how long you expect to stay in your current house. Depending on the severity of your situation and the real estate market at the moment, you might even want to considering selling your home altogether and taking on a short term rental in your new locale. If you expect to stay in your current home for a few more years, the fl...
Refinance Your Second Mortgage A 2nd mortgage is a secured loan on your property, with your home serving as collateral. Depending on the particular terms of your second mortgage, you could be able to refinance if you wish to reduce your monthly payments or are in need of extra cash. Refinancing a 2nd mortgage can be an option for those who want to pay off their mortgage (excluding any h...
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Mortgage Refinancing Companies -- Choosing The Right One Searching for a mortgage refinance company can be a daunting task. In a moderately sized city, there could be at least several major refinancing companies and several smaller local refinancing institutions. In a larger city, you can easily have hundreds of refinancing companies. If you add in the access to mortgage companies via the Internet, the options are truly limitless. With so many options, how can you find the right lender to refinance your home mortgage loan?One aspect that needs to be considered when searching for the perfect mortgage company is experience. This is not to say that an inexperienced lender will not be able to give you the best refinancing rates on your mortgage. Instead, when referring to experience, I am talking about experience pertaining to your ... |  |
| Kingsland Saint Marys & Kings Bay Real Estate - Va Mortgage Information For Home Buyers A VA guaranteed mortgage is the usually the best way for active or inactive veterans to purchase a home. The VA mortgage allows the buyer to purchase a home with absolutley no out of pocket expenses!There are closing costs associated with the purchase of a home. These costs can be paid by the seller of the property on the buyers behalf. However, these costs must be included into the sales price of the home.When negotiating to purchase a home, explain to your sales agent that you wish for the seller to pay your closing costs as part of the deal. Costs that you wish the seller to pay are costs such as lender fees,attorney fees, state and local taxes, etc. Be sure to get a Good Faith Estimate from your lender, so you will know the exact amount of the costs associated with your VA loan.VA loa... |  |
| Kings Bay Saint Marys & Kingsland Georgia - Affordable Home Mortgages Buying a home is usually the largest purchase any of us will make in a life time. When choosing a home, you want to find one that suits your families needs best. Take the same steps when choosing a mortgage company!When you are looking for a mortgage company, do your homework! Interview the loan officer and ask him what he or she has to offer you in terms of savings, interest rates and mortgage loan products.Ask for a Good Faith Estimate of Settlement charges. Ask the lender if there is a lock fee and for how long?A good lender should discuss with you the different programs that they offer. Most lenders offer VA, FHA and Conventi... |  |
| Home Mortgages: Does A No-closing-cost Loan Make Sense For You? I have heard a number of radio ads and have seen many newspaper ads offering "no closing cost" home mortgages. These ads will tell you that you can get a new mortgage or refinance your existing mortgage at absolutely with absolutely no closing costs.. There are no points, no charges for an appraisal, no charge for title insurance, no costs, period.On the face of it, this sounds like a great deal and no-cost mortgages are especially popular with people who are refinancing an existing mortgage.How does this work? Normally, a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage, would have closing costs in the neighborhood of $2,000 to $3,000 or even more, depending on whether or not... |  |
| Mortgage Advice In the US today more households have mortgages than ever before. In fact the chance of you havin... |  |
| Home Mortgage Loan Information - Which Type Of Home Loan Is Best For You? If you are considering buying a home, then you may be more than a little confused by all of the terms you hear about home loans. After all, lenders throw around words like fixed rate, balloon mortgages and adjustable rate mortgages without a thought. But if you aren't at least familiar with the basics-those terms can be pretty confusing!Here's a basic guide to the three most common types of home loans. Study it, and determine which one is right for you.Fixed Rate Home LoanIf you are thinking about buying a home and staying in it until you pay it off, then you will probably want a fixed rate home loan. With this type of loan, ... |  |
| Securing A Us Commercial Mortgage What's the most efficient way to secure a US Commercial Mortgage? Work with a mortgage broker who specializes in this area. If you've ever applied for a loan, you're familiar with the mountain of paperwork you are required to complete during the process. The lender takes the applicant... |  |
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