| |
| |
|
Mortgage & Refinancing Information |
|
|
|
Home Equity Loans - A Big Benefit Or A Big Mistake?
When the bills are piling up and there doesn't seem to be any way out, a home equity loan can seem like the answer to your prayers. Home equity loans can also be a great way to jumpstart a business or investment portfolio. However it's important to realise that in some circumstances, a home equity loan may in fact make your life a whole lot worse. A home equity loan is like a second mortgage on your home. If your home is currently worth $130,000, and you have a mortgage against it for $70,000, then you have $60,000 of equity available. Some home equity loans may allow you to borrow up to 80% of your home's value, others may go higher in special circumstances. In this example, you would be able to borrow another $34,000 as a home equity loan and still have only borrowed 80%. Before making the decision to borrow more, though, it's important to sit down and really think about what you're doing. Firstly, and most importantly, why do you want the money? This is a really crucial part of your decision making. Many people use a home equity loan to fund necessary repairs to their home, or make improvements and so improve their home's value. In that situation, a home equity loan is a great idea, as the extra borrowings will most likely be offset by the increase in your home's value - as long as you can afford the extra repayments. Borrowing to fund a business may also be a good use of home equity loan funds. It's important, though, not to put your money into a business without any track record, because you may well be throwing it away. Also, never use a home equity loan to try and resurrect a business that's losing money rapidly. You'll just end up with a bigger mortgage payment headache and nothing else. But if you have a business that is thriving and desperately needs some funds to expand, a home equity loan may well be the solution if banks aren't interested in giving you standard business finance. Investing is another possible use of your home equity loan funds. Again, it's important to think carefully about what you plan to invest in. You could use the home equity loan as a deposit on an investment property. Or you could use it to be good quality shares. You may well regret it, though, if you buy the latest hot tip speculative share! Choose carefully and wisely, and a home equity loan can be a great way to start your investment portfolio. Debt consolidation is another popular reason for taking out a home equity loan, and can be beneficial, but only if done wisely. There's no point increasing the debt on your home to clear your credit card debt, only to turn around and spend, spend, spend until all your cards are at their limits again. You need to close all of the cards as soon as they're paid off, or only keep one with a small limit for necessary purchases. There are other reasons for a home equity loan which can make it a useful source of funds, but in these situations it's really important to be sure that you have no other options, and you can afford the repayments. These may include educational expenses, unexpected medical expenses or a family emergency. There's also one reason that is very rarely a good reason to put your family home in further debt - big ticket items. Maybe it will feel really good to have that long vacation, or buy that expensive television and furniture, but ask yourself if it's really necessary or important. If spending the money on unnecessary things means that somewhere down the track you lose your home, you'll have paid for those things with a lot more than money. If you think carefully about a home equity loan, and assess your reasons for borrowing more against the family home logically rather than emotionally, then you will be able to make a sensible choice. A final thought - always assess your ability to repay the loan based on reality and perhaps even "worst case scenario" values, rather than optimistic estimates of overtime at work or a promotion. That way you'll be able to make the payments and enjoy your family home for many more years to come. Copyright Felicity Walker 2005 Investing and finance are two passions of the author. To find out more, check out http://www.homeequityloanzonecentral.com for more information.
MORE RESOURCES:
mortgage refinance - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Preventing Foreclosure Proceedings and Understanding Your Options Every year over 8 million homeowners are seeking help preventing foreclosure proceedings. This is a stunning 30 year high. Selling Your Business Note Before I go further, let me ask a question- if you won the lottery tomorrow, would you take the payout in a lump sum or in monthly payments?Most people would take a lump sum because even though it might be less than the total prize, they would have control over a large sum of money now and could let the time value of money go to work and increase their winnings.So why then would you opt to get paid on your business sale over several years rather than take a lump sum payout?The answer is probably because you didn't know that you could get cash for your business note. Sub-Prime Mortgage Company - 4 Signs of a Predatory Sub-Prime Lender If you have bad credit and are looking to get a home loan, odds are, you are going to be applying with a subprime lender. Subprime lenders specialize in financing for people with poor credit history or "less than perfect credit". The Truth behind Pension Mortgages A pension mortgage may seem lucrative at the first sight. However, they seldom are, if the customers who took pension mortgage are to be believed. Remortgages Guide Outlined below is a useful remortgages guide. Remortgaging has become increasingly popular due to the relatively simple and flexible process. Refinancing and Car Finance - Is it worth it? Refinancing and Car Finance - Is it Worth It?No doubt you have heard of refinancing your mortgage. It has become all the rage, but now you can also refinance your car loan. Florida Refinance - Refinancing in Florida The decision to buy a home in Florida can be one of the best you will ever make. If you own a home in Florida you may be considering refinancing. Stop Foreclosure - 7 Tips to Save Your Home Faced with the threat of a foreclosure on their home, with all the weight of the mortgage industry and its army of attorneys against them, the average homeowner might feel like David facing Goliath.But David defeated Goliath !David had a sling and some pebbles. Thinking About Refinancing Your Loan? Refinancing your home or property is a big decision that could drastically affect your financial future, for the good or the bad, depending on how smart you go about the process. Take the time to explore all of the different refinancing options you have available to you. Home Loans For People With Adverse Credit History Whether you are planning to purchase a home for the first time or refinance an existing mortgage, plan on comparing lending companies before you accept a financing offer if you have adverse credit history. Sub prime lenders specialize in offering loans to people who have a high-risk credit history. Home Equity Loan Tax Deductions Interest - is an amount you pay for the use of borrowed money.Several lenders are currenty offering amazing deals for 125% home equity loans. 5 Things In Selecting The Best Mortgage - You Should Know Your goal is not only to find the best rates and programs, by searching through a huge number of lenders products, and save yourself thousands of dollars on mortgage payments every year, but also, to save time and hassle by simplifying the loan process and reducing the paperwork. Here are some things you can keep in mind when selecting a mortgage provider. Home Mortgage Loan Refinance - Benefits To Refinancing Your House Online Here are some of the benefits to doing your home loan refinance online:Everything seems to happen faster - Online, when looking for a mortgage loan you can search around, fill out an application and a few minutes later, you can be receiving a pre-approval letter via email. There was no calling, no driving & no waiting on hold for an answer. Mortgage Research Good News for House Buyers Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show that in July gross lending in totalled 25.2 billion, with fixed rate deal mortgages are at their most popular for nearly six years. Imagine Cutting Over $8,000 Off Your Mortgage This Year I once helped a customer cut over $700 off his monthly mortgage payment. That's right, over $8,000 each year and over $40,000 in just five years. What is a Homeowner Loan? If you are a homeowner, it couldn't be easier to apply for a Homeowner or Secured loan.Secured loans - i. Home Equity Loans - 5 Useful Application Tips Obtaining a home equity loan does not have to be a major ordeal. Unlike your first mortgage, you are already in the home, and usually time is not such a major factor. Mortgage Information A mortgage is borrowing money using property as a security, a type of secured loan in other words. Primarily, the purpose in borrowing the money is to purchase a property. A Guide to the Best Remortgage Deals Finding the best remortgage deals isn't always easy, especially with the large variety of lenders available today. It can sometimes take a lot of research and time to locate the best remortgage deals for your home, though the end result is often worth it. A Guide to Getting Bad Credit Home Improvement Loans You might be wanting to look into bad credit home improvement loans but are unsure of where to start. After all, how do you get a good loan when your credit isn't the greatest?What you probably don't realize is that there are a number of lenders who offer bad credit home improvement loans, which use the equity of your home or other real estate to determine the amount of the loan with no additional collateral needed.
|
| Article List | Index | Site Map |
|
All logos, trademarks and articles on this site are property and copyright of their respective owner(s).
The comments are property of their posters, all the rest is Copyright © 2006 CanadaSEEK.com - All Rights Reserved. |
