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

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

Rolleen asked:


My daughter and son-in-law and two small children moved to the US from Italy and have been living with my husband and me for the past 7 months. They want to buy a house, have $75,000 in cash to put down and I recently took out a second mortgage (fixed 15 year 6% home equity loan) for $160,000 to loan to them interest free so they can buy a house with cash for $235,000. But my husband and others are telling me it may get complicated with the IRS, etc.

We planned to have papers drawn up, like a promissory note, saying that they would make the monthly payments on the $160,000 loan that is under my name. And if they should die or move before the loan is paid off, the money from the sale of the house would go to pay off the $160,000 loan. Do I need to charge interest for them? They are actually going to be paying off the loan that is under my name and already has 6% interest being paid. Is the fact that it is over $100,000 going to be a problem with the IRS and interest-free loan’s to family? It’s not a gift because they are paying it off.

It’s all very confusing and I don’t want to get stuck with a big gift tax or imaginary interest tax or worse yet, get in trouble. Do I need a lawyer or can we just get a Quicken Lawyer software Promissory note and be okay? I trust my daughter and son-in-law to pay this loan that’s in my name. It’s just been hard for them to get a loan right now because of the requirements for 2 years residency, 2 years at one job and 2 years credit in US. Price of houses are down and I want them to be able to buy one now.

TYRONE

Scott M asked:


My stepfather suffered a massive stroke on Friday the 13th - I have come to help my mother with his financial obligations. I am so confused! After going through his financial records we discovered obligations we knew about and many we didn’t. He has a mortgage, a home equity loan, 4 credit cards, cell phone, plus all the regular utilities. He will survive but it his paralysis is so severe that he may never speak or walk again. My mother has always kept her finances seperate from my stepfather’s. They file married but seperate. My mother can not afford to pay both his debts and hers. Is she reponcible for all of his financial obligations? If anyone can help me I would be so grateful.

DUNCAN

Julian Lim asked:


A discussion of the nature, benefits and operational methods of a home equity loan in simple, easy to understand language is helpful in deciding whether or not such a home equity mortgage should be acquired.

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.



KEVIN

davemathews asked:


A Denver mortgage home equity loan is a loan calculated using the current value of your home less the value of the mortgage loan you obtained to finance it in the first place. Basically this means that you have access to the value of your home, which will have appreciated since you first obtained your mortgage and your home. While this may be an easy way to get your hands on some spare cash, you should really have a good reason taking out such a loan and you should only use the money for matters that are extremely urgent.

 With a Denver mortgage home equity loan, you can take out a loan consisting of a lump sum available to you at a fixed interest rate. Just like a regular mortgage loan, you will have to pay monthly interest payments, but it is likely that the interest rate for your Denver, Colorado mortgage home equity loan will be much higher than the interest rate of your original mortgage. This is because a Colorado mortgage home equity is considered to be much riskier than a regular mortgage, since you already have another loan that you are still in the process of servicing. You will most probably already have to pay certain fees in order to obtain this loan.

 In order to justify taking out a new mortgage home equity loan, you will need some very convincing reasons for it. Being in debt is never a good thing, and if you already have one mortgage, you should only take out another if you really have urgent need of the money. One good reason that you might need to take out a Denver mortgage home equity loan is if you have a large credit card bill that is about to rollover. Or perhaps your child is about to start attending college and you do not have the necessary funds to send him or her to college.

 If you take out a Colorado mortgage home equity loan, you may be able to solve your current financial problems, but you will need to work hard in order to make it a lasting solution. If you were unable to afford to pay your bills or send your kid to college in the first place, then this probably means that your previous lifestyle was not sustainable. You must be prepared to make changes to your lifestyle in order to afford the payments on your mortgages. If not, you will find yourself in an even worse position than you were before.

 Of course, before you even think about heading down to the bank to take out your new mortgage, you need to do your homework first. There are several things you need to pay attention to. Of course, you first need to find out exactly how much money you need to solve your financial troubles. Then, you need to do the necessary calculations to determine if your home equity is enough to cover a loan for the amount that you require, and if you will be able to service the mortgage after you take it.

 If, after you have done all the necessary calculations, you determine that you can service the mortgage if you take it, you can take a trip down to your local bank and obtain your mortgage home equity loan and solve your financial troubles.



MARCEL

concerned asked:


my fiance has her own house titled in her own name with a 200k mortgage loan owned by the government and a home equity line of credit of 25k totaling 225k debt…The house value in today’s market is probably 140-180K maybe. The mortgage is too high to just keep the house for rent because she’ll probably end up paying for part of the mortgage and taxes paying @ least 5k a year for both. I don’t think its worth the time and effort try and keep tenants in the house and to pay money up front to just get the money back @ tax season.
Selling the house is going to take years unless the bank agrees on a short sale and the bank agrees to take a loss on the mortgage, even so, you’ll be paying a years worth of mortgage payments just to try to sell the house to save your credit before it goes into foreclosure anyways right? why lose 20k in money if the house goes into forclosure anyways???
I say…tell the bank your hardship, make no payments for 12 months and let it go into foreclosure, since were moving to a new house and the bank could possibly give you a few thousand dollars for keeping the house in good condition when you leave it. Your credit will go sour for a few years but why keep paying on something you never wanted in the first place?
I don’t believe the bank will garnish her wages for the mortgage loan or the equity line of credit, they take back there asset, which is the home… what should we do?

CLAY

nicolepatricksoellner asked:


We want to relocate to my home town to better off my children this would give them a better school district and we would be alot closer to my family, just how do we go about doing this? We have a mortgage on the house we live in now and a home equity loan also, so we need to sell this one and get another home and a new mortgage on a new one. What are the steps to take to do all of this? Please help!!!

CHADWICK

Kim asked:


I have debt that I want to consolidate into a home purchase, since I found a home that is priced well below appraised value. Since there is already equity is there a lender that will do a first mortgage and second at the same time? This would reduce my debt to income and put me into a better financial situation since I would only have one payment would be lower.

HUNG

lovenlight08 asked:


I am getting divorced and my name is not on the title to the house it is only on the mortgage loan and home equity loan, does this mean I am not entitled to anything from the house when we divorce, I am at my wits end now I thought my name was on the title to the house , I was just informed it is not on title only on loans
am I still entitled to anything now or not? he purchased the house in 1998 we got married in 2001
he has supported me since 1998 due to me not working due to health issues
just to add to this for some , I have contributed to the house during the past
11 years. and I am not looking to live in the house, I am not looking to keep the house either
there was no pre nup signed either.

KYLE