equity loan payments – home

April 6, 2010

What You Need To Know About Home Equity Loans

James Copper asked:


A home equity loan is a popular and attractive source of borrowing for thousands of people. Part of the reason people think first of a home equity loan when they need a substantial sum of money is that home equity loans are marketed extensively, with advertisement in every medium.

Lenders love home loans because they are highly risk free. Therefore, a home equity loan is easy to get and offers one of the best interest rate of any type of high end loan.

A equity loan is attractive for consumers, not only because of the low interest rate but because that interest can be deducted from income taxes. The outlook isnt completely rosy for consumers who are considering a home equity loan, however.

With any home equity loan you can borrow only up to 80 percent of the equity youve accrued in your home at the time of your loan application. If, for example, your homes current market value were 150,000 and the balance on your mortgage was 70,000 you could borrow 80 percent of the 80,000 equity, or 64,000.

Consumers should not make the decision to take out a home equity loan lightly. Nor should they borrow to the maximum 80 percent just because they can. Borrow only what you have to have.

Not only will this save you money in the long run but a loan officer who sees you being foolish about your willingness to put yourself in debt and your home at risk may think twice about your having the responsibility to pay back your mortgage – and on time.

Sometimes a home equity loan is used foolishly for a vacation or toys such as boats and other things that the consumer could really do without. The borrower assumes that their home will appreciate in value over the term of the loan so it really isnt like borrowing or paying interest, is it?

What if the home doesnt appreciate? What if the local mill or factory or other major employer closes down and the town loses a big chunk of property taxes and people move it and then the retail shops lose money and so forth and so forth. If you dont live in the Mid-Atlantic States or the rust belt talk to people who did or do. Hear what they have to say about the likelihood of this occurring.

No matter where you live downsizings, mergers, company closures, layoffs and buyouts are commonplace. There is just no way to predict that your home will appreciate, your job will be secure and youll be financially better off at the end of the loan and throughout the life of the loan.

A home equity loan, while often a wise thing, and a necessary action, shouldnt be taken on for frivolous desires.

There are occasions, such as lowered home mortgage interest rates and to get out from under high interest unsecured loans such as credit card debt when a home equity loan can save you money and improve your credit standing. When this opportunity arises, assuming you have the equity and can afford the payments, a home equity loan can be a very wise decision.



Heidi

March 31, 2010

Loan Guru: How The Home Equity Loan Works

Kirrhi Kreamer asked:


Home Equity Loans have quickly grown to become one of the greatest and most popular loan types in the world today. The idea that a person that is a home owner can go ahead and get a loan taken out on their home in order to deal with any emergency situations that might crop up is something that allows a lot of people to rest easy at night and ultimately the people that are able to rest easy are going to have lower stress levels and a better all around existence specifically because of the presence of the option of the home equity loan in their lives.

Now, home equity loans are quite good and what is even better is being able to understand the anatomy of a home equity loan and exactly how it shakes out in a number of different areas.

Interest Rates

One of the biggest questions that people usually have regarding home equity loans is the question of interest rates. When you take a look at the different interest rates that are available and indeed you take a look at the interest rates for other types of loans in comparison to the home equity loan, what you immediately find is that the people that are interested in getting the home equity loan for themselves pay a much lower interest rate on average than people that are involved in other loans.

This is because home equity loans have been created from a structural point of view to resemble mortgages. The average mortgage has an interest rate between 5% and 7% annually and when you look at the average home equity loan, you find the same thing is true as well.

Monthly Repayment Amounts

When you look at the different monthly repayment amounts for the different loans available on the market today, you tend to the see the exact same thing when comparing them to home equity loans that you did with the interest rates. Namely that home equity loans usually tend to be on average 10-20% lower per month in terms of the monthly repayment amounts. This is because of the presence of strong collateral (property is the strongest collateral imaginable in a free market society) as well as the longer term lengths when it comes right down to the actual loan deal itself.

Fees

Now, home equity loans, just like mortgages, sometimes carry a fee schedule with them. The fee schedule is an idea that financial institutions to a large degree have borrowed from credit cards, because for the longest time mortgages were not as restrictive as they are in today’s world.

When you take a look at the mortgages and home equity loans in today’s society, what you eventually see is that the fees tend to revolve around things like late payments, underpayments and even overpayments in certain agreements. Either way, the fees are not really a big part of most loan agreements, but it is worth mentioning that they might be there for full disclosure.



Joanne

February 22, 2010

5 Advantages of A Home Equity Loan

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.



Wayne

February 6, 2010

Home Equity Loan – A Popular Fund Raising Option

Sachin A asked:


Home equity loans have become one of the most popular fund raising options for individuals.

Home equity loans are the loans taken using your home’s equity as the collateral. Thus they are a type of secured loan.

These loans are based on two facts – first, that you have repaid a certain portion of the home mortgage and thus should be able to reutilize that equity; and second that the value of your home has increased since you first purchased it.

The common reasons for taking an equity loan are home improvements, educational expenses, medical bills, debt consolidation etc. There are usually no restrictions on how the borrowed money is used.

The interest paid on such loans is usually tax deductible. Also the interest rates on them are lower than credit card other type of consumer loans. (They are higher than the first mortgage.)

Let’s understand what “home equity” is.

Home equity is defined as the difference between the market value of your home and how much you owe on the mortgage (or mortgages in case you have more than one.)

The market value of your home will be determined by bank’s appraiser or a licensed appraiser.

Suppose market value of your home is $ 100,000 and you have made a down payment of $ 10,000.

Then your equity

= market value – amount owed

= $ 100,000 – $ 90,000

= $ 10,000

After three years if you have paid back $15,000 more of the debt, you will still have $75,000 of the debt left. However after three years the market value of your home would have increased to $ 150,000.

Thus your equity after three years would be

Market value – amount owed

=$ 150,000 – $ 75,000

=$ 75,000

Besides home equity loans (fixed rate home equity loans), there is another type of home equity debt – home equity line of credit or HELOC.

Both of them are known as “Second Mortgages” as they are secured by your home just like the first mortgage.

“Second Mortgages” are repaid sooner than the first mortgages, which are usually repaid in thirty years. Home equity loans usually have a time frame of five to fifteen years.

Home equity loans are a one time lump sum loans, that are repaid over a time period decided beforehand.

On the other hand, home equity line of credit or HELOC allows you to borrow up to a certain limit for the period of the loan. The time limit of the loan is set by the lender. You can withdraw money any time during the time period and repay it any time. It works the same way like a secured credit card.

A HELOC has a variable interest rate that varies through out the period of the loan. The HELOC interest rate depends on the prime lending rate (prime lending rates are fixed by the federal reserve in the US.) The payments can vary depending on what is the amount that has been borrowed, the interest rates and whether the loan is in the draw period or the repayment period.

The credit rating of the borrower is also a factor in deciding the home equity loan interest rates.

The draw period of the line of credit is the period during which you can borrow any amount up to the limit specified by the lender. Also only the interest has to be paid during this period; however you may choose to repay the principal amount if you wish.

During the repayment period, no new debt can be taken and the existing debt must be paid back.

Usually draw periods are for ten years and repayment periods around fifteen years, but this varies depending on the lender’s policies.

Withdrawals for HELOC can be done by checks, credit cards or EFT. Lenders may have certain terms which make require you to take an initial advance when the HELOC is setup, borrow a minimum amount each time you use it and keep a minimum outstanding balance.

If you decide to sell off your home, you have to pay back full amount of the home equity loan.



Veronica

January 23, 2010

Is A Home Equity Loan Right For You?

Dean Shainin asked:


You keep hearing about home equity loans.

The bills are out of control and you need a new car. “Maybe we can get a new carpet and paint the house”, you say to yourself. And, you keep hearing about home equity loans.

These are just a few reasons why home equity loans can seem like the solution to all your problems and are so popular.

Home Equity Loans: The Upside and Downside

Home equity loans can be a fantastic way to start your own business or to take advantage of an investment opportunity. They can also make your situation worse than it was before you got the home equity loan.

The reason’s for taking advantage of home equity loans are the most important part of the process. Take the time to sit down and ask yourself, “Do I really need a home equity loan? Do I want to go on a spending spree or am I really trying to improve my life?”

A Home Equity Loan is Like Having a Second Mortgage on Your Home

Suppose your home is worth $200,000 and you have a mortgage against it at $150,000, you will have $50,000 of equity available. Home equity loans allow you to borrow up to 80%, and sometimes more in certain situations, of your home value. In this situation you could borrow $80,000 as a home equity loan and still have only borrowed 80%.

This is why it is so important to take a good look at your situation before making a decision. You can see how easy it could be to get carried away with home equity loans.

A Home Equity Loan-Some Smart Reasons and Some Not-So-Smart

Let’s say you only need $20,000 for that new car and some home improvements. You decide to borrow another $15,000 of equity for that vacation to Hawaii you have been dreaming about. First of all, a vacation to Hawaii would not cost $15,000 unless you went on a first class, spare no expense vacation.

Using a home equity loan to buy a car may not be a great idea with today’s 0% interest rates and no money down loans. There is no sense in risking losing your home to buy a new car with these type of loan programs that are available in todays market.

On the other hand, a home equity loan for home improvements may be a great idea. This will add value to your home as long as you can afford the higher loan payments.

A business that’s doing great that you want to expand may be another good use of a home equity loan. As long as the business is already in profit and is not losing money.

Some solid investments can be a good idea if you have done your research before hand. The latest IPO may or may not be a great idea.

Consolidating high interest credit cards may be a great idea as long as you close the accounts and don’t run them back up. You really only need one or two credit cards in case of an emergency.

Educational expenses may be a good reason to take a home equity loan to get your children started in the right direction. Someday this type of an investment can pay off.

These are just a few things you can do with home equity loans. It’s very easy to borrow too much, only to find yourself having a tough time making the new payments.

The important thing to remember with home equity loans is to be logical and don’t let your emotions get the best of you. Again, take the time to sit down and research all your options. This way you can rest well at night and not have to be concerned about losing your home. You can enjoy the things you do with your home equity loan knowing you’ve made a wise decision.



Brenda
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