The boom in home equity loans has not lessened much, even though home sales have slowed and the steep rate of home value appreciation has leveled off somewhat. Refinance lenders are busy turning out home equity loans and home equity lines of credit to people who wish to take advantage of loans with reasonable interest rates that are also tax deductible. Banks and mortgage companies that were busy cranking our mortgages over the last few years have become refinance lenders and compete heavily in the market, in order to maintain the loan pace that they established in the boom years of 1999 – 2005.
There are also some companies who see the enormous number of ARMs and interest-only ARMs that are going to adjust shortly who have become refinance lenders and who are engaged in making noisy promises with advertising that makes promises too good to be true. Many of these lenders are also making 125% financing available on homes. A loan of this type is risky enough in a flat housing market – but it is riskier yet if it has an adjustable rate attached.
Some of the refinance lenders out there with products of this type have been characterized as “predatory lenders.” These companies design their refinancing with fine print included that encourages default on the loan. There may be punitive measures for a single late payment, lack of escrow for taxes and insurance, prepayment penalties – any number of restrictive provisions that can lock the borrower into an impossible situation. When it comes to refinance lenders, the institution is sometimes as important as the interest rate. It is important to stay away from operators that engage in hand waving about “details” and make promises that sound too good to be true. Usually they are.
2 Questions to Ask in the Bank Refinance Scenario
While the mortgage industry has seen the emergence of all sorts of new finance companies over the last fifteen years, banks have maintained their pre-eminent role in mortgage provision.
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Adjustable Rate Mortgages Carry Substantial Risk
There are some exotic adjustable rate mortgage loans (ARMs) available these days that are capable of jumping fifty to eighty percent when the day comes for adjustment. Interest only adjustable mortgage rates can be frightening when they are...
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Adjustable Rate Mortgages-Can I Control The Cost?
When adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) were first introduced, the entire notion had great shock value for the naturally conservative banking industry. Who would want a thirty year loan with interest rates that couldn’t be predicted for twenty nine of
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Banks And The Mortgage Frenzy
Now that the feeding frenzy in the housing market seems to have abated, the financial institutions that made it all possible are looking around and wondering what they hath wrought. Interest only home loans made it possible for millions of home...
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Better To Cut Mortgage Or Invest In Funds?
Invest the money: Take the $500 and put it in the stock market. You can make more money there than you will save in paying down your home loan. This is a golden opportunity to dollar-cost average your way into the market and to build up a tidy...
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Calculate your Refinance Savings for a Lower Rate
Mortgage Lenders Plus has a number of refinance calculators available for different refinance scenarios. It takes a calculator to make side-by-side loan comparisons, and it also often takes a calculator to compute the true cost of a loan.
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Efficient Refinancing: Four Tools You’ll Need
The real estate market remains an enigma to the people who get paid for analyzing it. Clearly the rapid appreciation rate of homes has slowed, in some markets halted altogether, and in a few it’s gone into reverse.
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Home Refinancing Can Create A Bind Down The Road
Americans are getting one more cash advance from their homes. Cash-out home loan refinances this spring hit their highest market-share percentage in 16 years:
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How To Find The Best Subprime Loan
One of the commercial aspects of today’s microeconomics is the division in the financial industry between prime mortgages and subprime mortgage loans. A good part of the reason for these categories is the explosion of credit in this country and the e
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If You Plan To Cut Spending: Refinance & Reduce
There's no question that refinancing your home will reduce your monthly payments and reduce your income taxes. But it may not help your financial situation one bit. In fact, it may cause considerable damage to your long-term financial well-being...
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Investment Refinance is a Game for Financially Savvy Homeowners
A substantial number of homeowners will take out home equity loans or home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) because they can be construed as “cheap money.”
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Its A Buyers Market Lower Home Costs And Lower Interest Rates
For those of you hoping to buy a house, here’s some news that fits in the “small miracles” category. Median home prices in the United States actually dropped in the last year. In August of 2005 that number was $229,000; in August of 2006 it was...
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Land Refinance Can be Critical to the Survival of a Business Venture
Land refinance is a little different than obtaining a new mortgage on a home. Raw land is more difficult to appraise; often there have been no comparable sales in the area that can help to establish relative value.
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Mortgage Settlement Costs Differ From State To State
An annual survey of mortgage closing costs in the fifty states brings up some substantial differences in its 2006 edition. The survey is partial to some extent, because it does not reflect taxes, other government costs or escrow fees.
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Mortgage Shopping? There's No Comparison
The survey shows that the pricing of mortgage fees is a shell game, with different lenders calling the same fees different things. Some lenders charge a slew of separate little fees, and others charge a few bigger...
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Paying Ahead – A Mortgage Boon Or A Deduction Loss?
For most homebuyers, just completing the purchase is a major financial stretch. Especially in the last five years, home buying has meant exotic financing schemes that allow the home buyer to maximize the purchase and minimize the...
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Paying Off A Mortgage Isn’t Always A Good Idea
Homeowners who have held mortgages for many years and are financially sound often consider the option of mortgage payoff. People for whom retirement is near or who are trying to develop a financial strategy for their senior years face this...
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Refinance Fees for a Home Equity Loan Are Similar to Mortgage Fees
Refinance fees depend on what sort of refinancing effort you’re considering.
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Refinance Foreclosures are Result of Default on the Second Loan
For purposes of this article, we are going to assume that “refinance” refers to home equity refinancing in the form of a second mortgage. A home equity loan and a home equity line of credit (HELOC) are both considered second mortgages.
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Refinance Rates are Defying the Laws of Finance
Refinance rates can refer to a couple of categories of home refinancing. The first is a complete refinance of the mortgage(s) on the home into a new mortgage.
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Refinance Tax Deductions is what makes Second Mortgages Valuable
When people talk about taxes and home refinancing, generally they are referring to the refinance tax break that may be available if you chose to refinance the equity in your home.
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The Popularity Of Reverse Mortgages
Reverse mortgage loans have become a mainstream financial product over the last several years. Part of the reason for this is that the FHA and HUD are doing their best to develop a framework that protects seniors who want to utilize this tool...
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The Pros And Cons Of A Reverse Mortgage
Any senior over the age of 62 who owns a home can seek out a reverse mortgage loan. These packages provide cash to the homeowner who, presumably, has accumulated a few decades’ worth of equity. The money can be provided as monthly stipends, in....
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What Defines An Adjustable Mortgage Rate
Until a person goes shopping for a home loan, the most he or she usually knows about the business is that there are fixed rate loans and there are adjustable rate mortgage loans (ARMs) that typically start out with a low interest rate which at some..
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When In Debt, Don't Look For Quick Fix
When you sell the rental, you'll pay capital-gains tax on the difference between what you paid for the home (including improvements) and what you net from the sale of the home. Fortunately, federal capital-gains tax rates are at historically low...
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