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Home Equity Loan Shopping

Use the Equity in Your Home to Borrow Smarter

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Overview: Know

Your Value

A home equity loan allows you to use the value stored in your home to borrow money, even if you’re still making a monthly house payment. Because the home acts as collateral for the loan, interest rates are lower than most credit cards or other personal loans. The funds can be used for whatever you like, although typically this sort of loan is used for major renovation or repairs, tuition, or other major but forward-looking expenses. A home equity loan to pay off debt or consolidate existing obligations into a single, more manageable monthly payment is also considered appropriate. These are versatile loans, but not to be taken out lightly. This is your home, after all.

Most lenders won’t consider a home equity loan unless you’ve paid off at least 15% - 20% of the value. Your house equity is the current value of the home minus the amount you still owe. If your home is currently worth $200,000, for example, and you owe $125,000 (not counting interest), your house equity is $75,000. You won’t generally be able to borrow the full amount, but with decent credit lenders usually consider loans of up to 80% of your current equity. There are upfront fees for setting up a home equity loan, so it’s important to look at the total cost of borrowing and not just the amount being borrowed. Some lenders will allow you to roll these fees into the loan itself, but this increases the amount on which you’ll be paying interest and thus makes the loan more expensive.

Because your home is acting as collateral, home equity loans are sometimes referred to as a “second house mortgage” or simply a “second mortgage.” This is an important point because, just as with your initial mortgage, failure to repay the loan can lead to your home being taken over by the lender. Interest rates tend to be slightly higher than your initial mortgage, but still quite favorable compared to credit cards or many other types of loan. Although the property serves as collateral for the loan, your credit score still has an impact on what sort of rate you’re likely to be offered.

Types of Home Equity Loans

There are two main varieties of home equity loan. The first is a traditional home equity loan in which you receive a lump sum of cash to be repaid over an agreed upon time frame. These are generally structured like typical term loans at a fixed interest rate so that your monthly payments remain unchanged and you know your final payment date before you sign.

The advantage to a traditional home equity loan is that it’s straightforward and predictable. You have access to the entire balance almost immediately and great flexibility how you choose to use it. Payments are predictable, making budgeting much easier no matter what happens to market interest rates or the value of your home during the life of the loan.

The second variety is the Home Equity Line of Credit, or HELOC. Like other lines of credit, a maximum amount available is determined based on your current equity and credit history. You may withdraw as much or little as needed, whenever needed, up to that maximum amount – making this similar to most credit cards. Like most credit cards, the interest rate is variable and may rise or fall over the life of the loan. Unlike credit cards, there’s often a cut-off date at which point any remaining balance is due.

The advantage of a home equity line of credit is that your payments depend on how much you’ve actually withdrawn and you’re never paying interest on money you’re not actually using yet. Some specialized HELOC loans are structured as “interest only” for a set number of years, making initial payments very attractive but meaning much larger payments will kick in a year or two down the line.

HELOC Lenders have more flexibility to limit or even cancel your line of credit during the loan period based on evolving conditions. If you change jobs or your home decreases in value, you may find yourself unable to access funds which were available only the week before.

Caution & Consideration

Never underestimate the danger of losing your home if you end up unable to make both your initial house payment and your second home mortgage payment as well. Home equity loans can be a productive solution for debt consolidation or otherwise taking control of your financial situation, but they don’t make debt magically disappear. More importantly, they don’t guarantee improved budgeting, increased income, or better spending habits going forward. If you’re using a home equity loan with bad credit or to manage difficult circumstances, make sure it’s part of a larger strategy for reducing your debt and improving your credit going forward.

Any lender promising you more than what’s being described on these pages may be seeking to take advantage of your situation in hopes your desperation will cloud your judgement. Other times, we manage to get into enough trouble ourselves that we don’t need outside manipulation. There’s an industry term for this kind of spiral: “reloading.” It means you take out a loan to pay off existing debt, regaining credit and resources which you then spend until you need another loan – usually before the first one is paid off.

If you’re not sure whether or not an offer is legitimate or practical, discuss it with a trusted friend or family member. Remember the old cliché about anything which sounds too good to be true – it probably is. If you’re having trouble meeting your monthly debt obligations, consider seeking professional advice or assistance rather than digging yourself any deeper. There are almost always better solutions. A second mortgage may be a powerful tool for addressing a short-term need or problem, but it’s a poor choice if used to delay the inevitable consequences of ongoing debt.

Loanry® is here to help you get your Home Equity Loans

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Why Loanry?

Home equity loans are not intended to be quick or easy, nor should they be. But shopping for your second mortgage online certainly offers many conveniences unavailable in pre-internet days.

The most obvious of these is the 24/7 access it gives you. Research options in your area, compare residential mortgage interest rates, or submit your application to any lender you choose – all at any time of day from pretty much any location. Or maybe you decide to educate yourself first by reading up on the process and some of the terminology involved. As long as you have access to a computer, laptop, or phone, you can do business when and where it works for you. Many clients tell us afterwards that they were pleasantly surprised at how quickly they receive their response. You may decide to begin by checking your own credit score so you know how much leverage you have negotiating the terms of your loan. You could utilize one of our online loan calculators to experiment with different interest rates and repayment schedules to see how each impacts your monthly payment and the totals paid over the life of the loan. Or you may have questions about the process or your options which you’re uncomfortable asking in person. It’s never wrong to ask questions, but sometimes it’s easier when you’re doing so on your own time, from your own couch or home office, without having to worry how you “sound.” When you’re ready, we’ll ask for a little basic information about you and your current needs. We’ll search our database of reliable online lenders and to help you find a lender. The rest is between you and the lender. If they make you an offer you’re happy with, the rest is easy. If not, you keep shopping until you find something closer to what you want. One of the benefits of the 21st century and the array of online lending options is how vigorously most of these lenders are willing to pursue your business. A generation ago, in many smaller towns, you might have had only a handful of options for any major financial transaction. In some cases, you only had one – or none! Today the wonders of a competitive marketplace are fully unleashed and customers benefit as a result. The only thing more convenient than more options, better service, and surprisingly competitive rates from a curated array of legitimate lenders is letting us help you navigate them. Which, it turns out, is part of what we do.

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With the right home equity loan bad credit can be turned into good. Use your home equity loan to pay off debt more quickly. High interest credit cards can be eliminated and replaced by a single, lower-interest loan. Burdensome medical or legal expenses can be resolved. Automobiles can be repaired – or even replaced. While each situation is unique, the goal is the same – building a stronger financial future. Whether our goals are reached quickly or it takes decades, they’re still worth reaching.

Of course, many potential uses are about more than solving problems. Use the value of your home to improve the value of your home via remodeling or renovation. Pay for your child’s education or your own. Finance that wedding or that long-overdue family vacation. It’s entirely up to you. Our financial goals all involve money, but they need not be limited to our bank balances or property values. Sometimes the most important financial goals are the things we want to be able to DO, and who we’d like to have along for the ride.

Whatever the purpose of your home equity loan, keep in mind that just as your credit history and credit score will impact the terms of repayment, how you manage repayment will shape your credit history and credit score going forward. Those aren’t just for bragging rights. A stronger credit history and a higher credit score means more options, more access to financing and on better terms. It means you have more choices – and that’s always a worthwhile goal.

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Connecting you with lenders and offering insight about different loan options is an important part of what we do at Loanry, and something we’re proud of as a core function of the entire Goalry family. Our guiding vision, however, is a bit grander, and substantially more involved.

We want to provide users like yourself with far more than helping you find a lender. We’re building a “content mall” filled with sites covering just about every aspect of personal or small business finance. We want to simplify the various elements of your financial life and give you the tools and knowledge necessary to take more effective control of your money, time, and other resources. We’ll never tell you what to do, but we’d like to help you make more informed decisions along the way.

You can learn about different sorts of savings accounts or investment options on Wealthry.com or check your credit scores on Creditry.com before exploring the elements likely to appear on your credit report. Read up on how to best devise an effective household budget or watch a brief video outlining the different types of small business loans or how to best prepare for tax season. Use our online tools to compare loan options or estimate interest. Whatever you need to know, there’s a good chance it’s covered in plain, simple English and freely accessible from wherever you like, whenever you like, in one of our thousands of informational blog entries or our hundreds of videos.

As our “content mall” expands, we hope you’ll visit Accury.com, Billry.com, Budgetry.com, Cashry.com, Creditry.com, Debtry.com, Taxry.com, and Wealthry.com – and of course you may utilize Loanry.com as often as you wish. The focus of each is different, but the goal of everything in the Goalry.com family is the same – to help you take better control of your financial world by offering a central location for information, comparisons, and connections.

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Did You Hear?

“When a home feels like it has been customized to an owner’s functional and aesthetic needs, the people who live there generally find it more appealing than the best five-star resort.”

Vern Yip (American Interior Designer and Television Personality)

Educate Yourself

An Asset, Well Can Be An Asset.

You can Leverage it for a Remodel or Just for the Rate

Home equity loans are all about leveraging your assets – using what you’ve got to more effectively get where you want to go. Even if you still have years to go on paying off your home, you might qualify for a low-interest home equity loan or home equity line of credit.

We can help you evaluate your options, prepare your documentation, and anticipate common speed bumps along the way. Whether you’re looking to renovate your home, eliminate high-interest credit cards, or pay off medical or legal bills, the right home equity loan can prove a powerful tool.

As with any powerful tool, however, it’s important to recognize the dangers as much as the benefits. There are many types of debt and nearly as many approaches to addressing it. We’ll lay out the pros and cons for you and let you make the right decision for your goals and circumstances. No one said it would all be easy, but that doesn’t mean it has to always be so hard – or that you have to figure it out alone.

Explained in 3 easy steps

How all of
this works?

It all starts with a simple loan request that takes a few minutes to complete.

We provide that information, at your request, to participating members who might be able to able to assist you with your financial needs. Many lenders transfer funds to your checking account as soon as the next business day.

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Step 1

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Step 3

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Funds are deposited directly to your bank account as soon as the next business day.

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Common Questions About Home Equity Loan

It's OK if you don't know all of the answers. The important thing is to be willing to keep asking your questions until you do.

Q: Can I Negotiate My Home Equity Loan?

Absolutely. While there are general guidelines most lenders follow, the exact terms of your loan are always negotiable. Your credit history matters, as does your current income, but you can highlight the elements in your profile which you find most advantageous. Don’t hesitate to let lenders know you’re considering other options.

Q: What Can I Do With a Home Equity Loan?

Anything you want, although usually loans of this sort are used to resolve major difficulties (burdensome debt, emergency repairs, etc.) or take substantial steps towards the future (home renovation, education, etc.) They can also provide relatively low interest options for major events like weddings or vacations.

Q: Are My Payments Tax Deductible?

Home equity loan payments used to be tax deductible, but recent changes to the tax code mean that’s now only the case if the loan is being used for home improvement.

Q: How is This Different Than Refinancing?

Refinancing your mortgage means renegotiating the terms of the loan in for your remaining balance. The goal is to secure a better interest rate or extended payment time rather than to end up with surplus cash to spend on other things.

Q: Is a Home Equity Loan the Same as Cash-Out Refinancing?

They’re similar, but structured a bit differently. A home equity loan is a distinct second loan from your first mortgage, while cash-out refinancing replaces that original loan. Interest rates and other details are figured slightly differently as well.

Q: What Is My LTV (Loan-To-Value) Ratio?

This is a fancy term used by lenders. It’s calculated by dividing the mortgage amount (how much you’re borrowing or how much you have left to pay on an existing loan) by the appraised value of the property. Ideally it’s always less than 1, meaning the property is worth more than what’s owed.

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