Tony Newton asked:




You’ve probably have heard of home equity conversion mortgage or HECM. This was introduced by the government through the Federal Housing Administration as a way to assist senior citizens to secure loans. This is a federally insured government program which makes it easier for senior citizens to use their home equity value in order to take out a loan.

What are the Benefits of a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage?

This federal program is distinct in so many ways. First off, the borrower is not required to pay off the loan on the condition that the home he place as collateral is his primary residence. This is entirely different from a traditional loan where you would be required to give monthly payments. You also place your house at risk because the lender would place a lien over your property.

HECM is completely different. As you withdraw your money from the loan, the amount of your home equity proportionally decreases. What happens if you have completely used up your entire home’s equity? The government’s insurance would sustain your loan so you would still be able to withdraw money from your loan. In fact, you would still be able to receive payment even if your lender goes bankrupt or goes out of business. You don’t actually place your house at risk with HECM. Your real estate title stays with you.

The second unique feature of HECM is the term of its repayment. The terms and conditions of an HECM are pretty convenient and reasonable. The borrower has various terms of payment to choose from which includes opting for equal monthly payments or a line of credit type of payment.

The amount of the loan that a borrower can apply for varies depending on several factors which include:

a. The applicant’s age at the time of the loan application

b. The amount of house equity

c. The limit of FHA HECEM loan in the region

d. Current market interest rates

The drawback, however, to this type of loan is that you may completely diminish your home’s equity that there’d be nothing left for your children. Fluctuating and harsh interest rates may also affect the amount of your loan to the extent that the interest alone could largely decrease your house equity.

Understanding the Requisites of HECM

You actually continue to receive loan payments as long as you comply with the requisites of HECM. In fact, you could continue to receive HECM payments for the rest of your life upon the condition that you continuously comply with the requirements for HECM payment. In order to avail of HECM, however, you should be able to comply with the following prerequisites of home equity conversion mortgage include:

a. The applicant is 62 years old or older

b. He should be the owner of the house

c. He should be actually residing in the house

d. He must have a small mortgage balance

e. He must attend counseling sessions about HECM before he actually applies for a loan

Home Equity Conversion Mortgage continues to gain popularity. Many senior citizens resort to applying for home equity loan as an additional source of retirement fund. It is believe that HECM would soon play a significant role in the lending industry.

Leonard

Julian Lim asked:




 

A home equity loan is that type of home equity mortgage acquired with your home property taken in as collateral. The home equity value is actually the difference between your home’s current market and the amount of mortgage that you owe.

 

People apply for home equity loan for many different reasons. The most common of them is the serious need for some amount of cash money on hand to be used for purposes such as college tuition fees or perhaps home improvements.

 

What Are The Advantages

 

Debt Consolidation

 

Another simple reason that home owners consider when wanting to take a home equity mortgage of their property is to consolidate their debts. Therefore, instead of dealing with a number of personal loans, you will then have to deal with only one payment monthly because of debt consolidation. Thus, one due date needs to be remembered as well as the amount that is needed to be paid. One loan means a much easier planning of your financial and budgetary concerns.

 

Home Improvements

 

As already said, home owners likewise can use home equity loan for the improvement of their home properties. These types of loans do offer great interest rates when it comes to home improvement. They likewise help in improving the value of your property with the increase in equity and the writing off of charges in interests on tax returns.

 

Simply put, the main advantages of home equity loans are low and tax-deductible interests. It is likewise a quick and easy way to acquiring a sizable amount of cash.

 

What Are The Disadvantages

 

Where there is positive side, there must also be negative side. You must remember that your house will be used as the main collateral. Thus, the failure to refund the home equity mortgage loan certainly will result in foreclosure, meaning, you lose your ownership to your property if you fail pay your loan obligations.

 

Increasing interest rates

 

Another bad aspect of home equity loan is the ever increasing interest rates. Most rates of home loan vary according to the current economy condition. With a changing interest rate, your monthly loan payments may either increase or decrease in its amount. Therefore it is a must that you are aware of your interest rate cap.

 

The cap actually decides on how high the interest rates can increase annually and how much it can increase its amount over the entire duration of the loan. Likewise, it is best for you to inquire from your lender about whatever possible fees involved with the home equity mortgage loan.  It is possible that lenders will decide to charge you will simply all possible fees there is. Some of the fees include application fees and withdrawal fees.

 

Before you get a home equity loan, better consider how the overall economy and property market is doing. If the prices of home property are going down, it is advisable to not consider getting such type of loan as the home equity value will be lower.



TRACY