. . asked:


I have debt totaling 30,000. I own a home in which I have over 150k equity in. I want to pay this debt once and for all. What would be the smartest way to do this? Should I refinance, take a home equity loan or set up a payment plan? My mortgage rate is 5.375 so refinancing would put me into a new higher rate since rates have gone up. I also have access to $10,000 in my 401k that I could borrow. I just want to make the right decision here. Any help would be great! Thanks.

COURTNEY

southernserendipiti asked:


I’m looking to buy my first house, and I want to seem reasonably intelligent before I sit down with a mortgage broker. If I am interested in purchasing a home in need of a few, minor repairs, can the cost of repairs be included in the home loan? Or, say: for aesthtic purposes, the lawn needs to be sodded…let’s say…to prevent erosion, etcetera. Can that be included in the loan? Or, do both of those instances fall under the category of home equity loans? Ahhh - here’s an additional question: Just for curiosity’s sake, how long must you own a home before you qualify for a home equity loan?

HERSHEL

Finance Brand Blog asked:


Bad Credit Home Equity Loans are a Good Thing

If you are in the unfortunate situation of looking as loans for people with bad credit, take heart. You are not alone. More and more people need to take out loans for some financial need, and one possible source is a bad credit home equity loan.

People end up with a bad credit rating for a myriad of reasons. Late payments and bankruptcy are obvious factors. Not so obvious is the debt to income ratio factor. If you happen to have college loans that are around $20,000 and marry someone with the same amount of college loan debt, you both may now have bad credit. Even if you own a home and have a pristine credit history a large loan taken out for an emergency will greatly affect your credit score. If your credit score is lower than you like, the good news is that it doesn’t have to stay that way forever! There are many loans for people with bad credit and a bad credit home equity loan is one place to start.

A home’s equity is the current fair market value of the home, minus any mortgage payments left to be paid. What this boils down to for a lender is what they can get for the home if they have to seize it from the owner for failure to pay. Even with a low credit score bad credit home equity loans are available for up to 90% of the equity in the home. Most lenders are comfortable giving equity loans for people with bad credit. Since there is collateral involved finding such a loan shouldn’t be a problem. The tricky part will be finding a bad credit equity loan with an interest rate that you’re comfortable with.

Reasons behind taking a bad credit home equity loan vary greatly. Currently, homeowners are opting to take their home’s equity and then reinvest it in their home through updating and remodeling. Or, maybe someone is able to pay off a sizeable amount of credit card or school loan debt with a home equity loan. Not only will it be a relief to pay off all your other creditors, your interest rate will go no where but up!

If you’re looking at loans for people with bad credit and own a home, a bad credit home equity loan is a good option. Interest rates will be lower than for any other loan you could get and it’s relatively easy for a homeowner with any credit rating to get one of these loans. Regardless of your reasoning behind getting a bad credit home equity loan, be careful as to whom you choose as your lender. Read the fine print and plan a strategy to increase your credit score with the equity loan. Your financial security will increase and your credit score will thank you.

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http://finance.brand-blog.com/

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MARY

Kae B asked:


I am interested in doing some updates to my home totaling about $50K (windows, bath, kitchen and small interior remodel). I haven’t really priced things out so this might be an inflated estimate, but I’m sure it’s in the range.

Given that I don’t have anything near that in the bank, I wondered about a home equity loan. I’ve owned my home for nearly five years and in that time the value has increased quite a bit. i love my neighborhood and the value is only on the rise.

Anyone know when the time is ripe to take a home equity loan ? How much equity should you have in your house? And will the new loan wrap up into your mortgage or be a completely separate payment?

HARLAN

Andy M asked:


Home equity loan is one among the most popular home loans available today. It is a second mortgage loan with characteristic properties of a secured loan. The popularity of the home equity loan has attracted many people to home equity loan. In general, equity loans does not have arise much complaints from the people. However as any other coin, home equity loan also have two sides. Hence, the detailed analysis of the loan is essential to differentiate the features of the home equity loan. The cross analysis of the pros and cons of the home equity loan helps to avoid stepping in to the home loans with false expectations.

The pros of the home equity loans include the advantages that a borrower can enjoy from the home equity loan. The benefits of the home equity loan usually outweigh other secured and unsecured loans since it is a risk free loan for the lender. The home equity loan provides maximum amount, in proportionate to the value of the equity. For good houses situated in the real estate booming locations, home equity loan lenders used to provide high appraisal of even 125%. In most cases at least 80% appraisal is always provided. The attractive interest rate is another advantage of the home equity loans. Usually the interest rate of the home equity loan is selected in fixed rates.

Among the pros of the home equity loan, the most pronounced benefit is the tax deduction. The amount taken as home equity loan below $100,000 is exempted from the tax payment. Hence, the equity loan can be used to raise money for any purpose such as emergencies, debt consolidation, medical loan, home improvements, education or any personal reasons. The repayment schedule of the home equity loan can be conveniently selected as 10 years or more, which can be even extended up to 30 years. Moreover, the home equity loan processing has become easy and less time consuming with the introduction of internet and online lenders. The verification of the title deed and the credit score are usually the time consuming steps. However, in the online processing these verifications has become limited and the home equity loan approval is done with in minimum period of time.

However the home equity loans are not devoid of cons. One of the major cons associated with home equity loan is the risk of losing your favorite home, if you make any default in the payment. The lenders will not be bothered much about the repayment as they will be focused to foreclosure the property. Hence the borrower is advised not to take large amount as home equity loan. Home equity loan is also not advantageous for persons, who are in the beginning of their career since they cannot easily shift their position, if they have a liability. However, the people in the proximity of the pension also cannot manage a long run home equity loan. In the home equity loans, the borrowers have to keep in mind the fact that the long repayment schedule will cost you more interest. To add on, if you are unlucky the home prices will slashes down and when you are about to sell the home, it will be a loss.

In brief analysis of the pros and cons of the home equity loan, it is clear that home equity loan will be advantageous for the larger loan amount. However, you have to be careful about interest rate and other conditions involved in the deal.



DIRK

animalhappy asked:


Ramon’s credit union is willing to loan an amount up to 70% of the appraised value of a home. Based on this information what is themaxium potential amoung of credit that’s available to Ramon for a home equity loan

PRESTON

Justin T asked:


Wanted to know if it would be a good idea to get a home equity loan to pay off my mortgage, truck, and a couple other bills that i have? I have heard that u can take the interest off taxes but don’t know

MITCHEL

Amanda B asked:


My husband I are looking to borrow about $35 thousand dollars out of the equity of our home to help finance our son’s college and to do some small renovations. We bought our house ten years ago for $170 thousand. It was recently appraised at $320 thousand and we have payed our mortgage down to $130 thousand. We are wondering if it makes more sense to refinance and pull $35 thousand out or if it makes more sense to take out a home equity loan. We are looking for the option that raise our monthly mortgage payment (or loan payment) the least.

ELIAS

knucklenuck asked:


We built a home to sell or rent and own it outright. We’d like to tap into some of the equity on the home but Countrywide (where we have the mortgage on our main home) has said that the new regulations don’t allow an equity loan on a home listed in the MLS. They said the home would have to be off the MLS for 6 months before we could qualify. If we had listed it ourselves there would have been no problem. I’m wondering if this is true with all lenders or if it’s a Countrywide policy.

MARTIN

Alan Lim asked:


A home equity loan is an excellent option to go for if you want to find a solution to your mind-blowing financial problems. If you have bought your home and have been paying for your mortgage for a while now, your home will surely have appreciated. This will entitle you to an increase in home equity, which you can use to borrow against. Here are some guidelines to help you in proper decision making when taking on a home equity loan:

What’s the difference between a Home equity loan and Home equity line of credit (HELOC)

A traditional home equity loan involves giving you lump sum cash, while a HELOC simply gives you a credit card or a check book which is set at a maximum amount which you can use for your purchases. Choosing from between the two should be a matter of personal decision, one that is based on your financial needs as of the moment. A traditional one may seem notorious as it tends to get used up more uncontrollably when in the wrong hands. However, if you look at it closely, the same problem can be encountered with a HELOC. Generally speaking, the closing costs for both are the same even if the HELOC involves a lot more workload for your lender. This is due to frequent accounting that needs to be made on your outstanding balance and frequent interest rate changes, which would have translated to higher fees.

Going for a Low Closing Cost Home Equity Loan

The competition in the market for mortgages today is quite heavy. Closing costs today has never been as ideal with excellent offers available. There are low closing cost loans, and there are even some who offer no closing costs. However, you should be vary when pursuing the latter as there are quite a number who do not offer excellent services - you get what you pay for (and not pay for) anyway. Usual closing costs involve appraisal, documentation fees, title examination, and so on. Closing costs from lenders vary greatly. If you want to get the best value, make sure you shop around for a reputable lender which will give you the best offer and a good closing cost.

What are the Costs Involved

The good news is that loaning against your home equity can be done without having to hurt your bank account. As was mentioned, most lenders offer low closing costs these days. The average closing cost today amounts to more or less one to 1.5% of your loan amount. This will surely be within reasonable budget considering the processes involved. Take note that taking on a home equity loan should be a lot cheaper and less complicated than first mortgages. It is just a matter of finding the best deal and negotiating with the right lender.



DOUGLAS