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Equity Home Loans Questions and Answers

Open Question: Contemplating bankruptcy.......?

Hi all, I have an ailing business. purchase price was around $375K. it definitely wont go for that price right now. My overhead is far too large for the income. I have an S-Corp Part of the loan is my Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) on my house. The house was put in as collateral. I have combined $35K in credit cards. I am unemployed. will bankruptcy help my situation? will bankruptcy take away my house? can i file for bankruptcy myself or do i need a lawyer (which i dont have money for)? any tips will be greatly appreciated. more

Open Question: Will I qualify for a home equity loan right away?

If I buy a house for $100,000 that is worth $115,000, how soon after buying that house will I be able to take out a home equity loan and how much will I be able to get? more

Open Question: would you take out a home equity loan for cosmetic surgery?

I want implants and I don't want to wait for them any longer. I don't want to get a credit card or anything because I have two I am trying to pay off. Would it be foolish to take a home equity line of credit? more

Open Question: Commercial property for home equity?

Is it possible to use a rental property that I own to apply for a loan? I own a rental building and need some cash to fix it. more

Open Question: Question for architects or architecture students?

Im going to syracuse architecture in 2 months but lately everyones been asking me if im sure its what i want to do. They keep telling me the drop out rate is huge, and its super hard, and its a commitment. I think im thinking about it more because im not eligible for financial aid right now so its going to cost my parents 50,000$ theyre taking out a home equity loan for my college. If i decide to switch majors itll be wasting 50,000$ because I wasnt sure. And architecture core classes are different from other core classes. Any architects or architecture students have advice for me? more

Resolved Question: Home not appraised, do I lose the escrow deposit if I back out?

The home seller accepted my negotiated offer of $350K on an equity sale. I was pre-qualified for a $350K home loan. However, the house later got appraised at only $280K. I deposited $7K for escrow account, paid the appraisal and home inspection fees. The bank now only approve $280K loan as appraised, but the seller cannot sell at $280K because he owes more than that. The seller wants to sell but trying to find ways to appeal or get better appraisals. 1. What should I do now? 2. If I back out, what are my loses? The process is taking too long and I am losing interest and want to look for another house. I have already paid the home appraisal and inspection. What else do I lose if I back out? Thanks. more

Resolved Question: Why do you think my Home Equity Line of Credit request denied?

Only people who work in lending please answer. My background: 200K/yr income. Employed for 9 years at the same very large company. I have 25 years experience in this same occupation. I own my home now for 10 years - have a 170K balance on an original $255K loan - I've been making extra $500/month principle payments religiously since I bought it, so I have something like 70% equity in my home even AFTER the recent drops in house value we've seen recently. My current mortgage payment is 1700/mo. My house has a value of $600K from 2009 recent comp sales. I have no cc debt, no car loan debt, no debt of any kind. I have no late payments on any bills ever. I pay for just about everything by credit card but I then pay the bill off every month ($4-5K mo usually). My credit rating is between 790 and 820 depending on the agency you use. I also have verifiable liquid cash and stock accounts in excess of $200K (this is not retirement money, this is after-tax hard cold cash)... so to me, Id say Im a good bet, no? I recently applied to open a HELOC for 200K and was turned down by Bank of America. They gave me this cryptic explanation "This is no reflection of your credit worthiness, you actually have excellent credit, but you don't have enough trades to meet our internal approval criteria"... I asked for that in english but they wouldn't elaborate or explain what a trade was or how many was enough..only that I didn't have enough. I haven't a clue what that means. Im shocked that Im not considered a good risk considering I actually don't need the money, so Im turning to this answer board for help... what's wrong with the picture? more

Open Question: Are we qualify for loan modification?

we bought our first home in PA, instead of having a traditional home loan of fixed rate for 15%, we took out a loan called HOME EQUITY, 15 years fixed at 5.74%. the monthly payment is $1365 (principle & interest only). We pay property tax & home owner insurance separately; it is $306 per month. Only my husband works, his monthly paycheck is about $3200 before taxes. As of now, our loan payment plus property tax & home owner insurance total is $1671 per month. Are we qualify for loan modification? How do we apply? more

Resolved Question: If spending more money will save the US economy, will it work for you?

Come one now, tell me you're not at least tempted to try! Don't you want to go out and just max out all those credit cards, lines of credit and home equity loans so that your own family economy will immediately improve? more

Voting Question: I need a quick loan for $150,000.00 secured by a first position on a single family home apprised at $410k.?

I own a cafe and for the past year I put every cent in to keeping the doors open, including a home equity loan for $115.0K. My home is valued at $410.0K. I need a loan for $150.0K for 1 year or less to pay off the loan, pay my back taxes and give my time to sell the property, which is currently listed. The loan will be repay upon the sell of the house with agreed upon interest. more

Voting Question: What are the fees associated with taking out a HELOC?

Or a Home Equity Loan... which costs less and is easier to do? more

Voting Question: Can you "borrow back" your downpayment in a HELOC?

We put $72,500 down on our $362,500 house last year. Assuming the value of the house hasn't changed, can I borrow all $72,500 back in a home equity loan or HELOC? more

Voting Question: Qualify for Home Equity Loan without owning property?

We live on a church camp... we lease the land that our house was built on... can we get a home equity loan anywhere? Would there be a similar alternative? more

Voting Question: How do I know how much equity my home has?

My husband and I are considering getting a home equity loan to fix up our house a little bit. Our home was valued around $80,000 when we bought it almost 2 years ago. It is completely paid off so we do not have a mortgage. How do I know how much equity my home has to borrow against? Also, I'm a dunce when it comes to these kind of things. I am not sure that our credit history is awesome (although I know it's not horrible- over the past few years we've probably had like 2 late credit card payments, and recently we accidentally exceeded our credit limit on our credit card, but I've never had problems with car payments, etc.) so will that affect it much? I'm confused about the whole situation. more

Resolved Question: getting an unsecured loan?

we have been trying to get an unsecured loan in wv, not a payday loan but just a loan of $2500.00. The credit score is not very good but we are working on it and it is gonna take some time to get the credit score up, meantime we are trying to get a small loan to help the credit and we need to do some repairs on our home. We own the house but our credit is too bad to get a home equity loan right now. I have tried and tried and there seems to be no where to get a loan, any ideas? My husband has a good job but it seems impossible more

Open Question: Do you know of any loans that fits this description? If so, what's the name of the company(s) that offers it?

Here's the situation: Imagine you have 8 credit card debts totaling $20k or more and you also have a mortgage. You are thinking about consolidating them all into one monthly bill. And this is what you want from the bank: 1) It has no application fees or any upfront fees to pay (such as appraisals on your home). 2) No PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) 3) An equity builder plan with an interest rate reduction that will accelerate your debt payments and get you out of debt sooner. 4) No prepayment penalties 5) A no fee bi-weekly payment 6) It uses simple interest vs schedule interest 7) It has no escrow (so you would have to set up an account on your own and use it as if it was an escrow). Escrow is used to pay for property taxes. Unfortunately, with a mortgage company, they only pay it once a year. Most of us that own a home pay property taxes on a quarterly or semi-annual basis. 8) It shows you an amortization schedule. 9) No obligation to accept the loan if you qualify. more

Resolved Question: Should we have listened to Ron Paul back in 2003?

http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul128.html Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this hearing on the Treasury Department's views regarding government sponsored enterprises (GSEs). I would also like to thank Secretaries Snow and Martinez for taking time out of their busy schedules to appear before the committee. I hope this committee spends some time examining the special privileges provided to GSEs by the federal government. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the housing-related GSEs received $13.6 billion worth of indirect federal subsidies in fiscal year 2000 alone. Today, I will introduce the Free Housing Market Enhancement Act, which removes government subsidies from the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), and the National Home Loan Bank Board. One of the major government privileges granted to GSEs is a line of credit with the United States Treasury. According to some estimates, the line of credit may be worth over $2 billion. This explicit promise by the Treasury to bail out GSEs in times of economic difficulty helps the GSEs attract investors who are willing to settle for lower yields than they would demand in the absence of the subsidy. Thus, the line of credit distorts the allocation of capital. More importantly, the line of credit is a promise on behalf of the government to engage in a huge unconstitutional and immoral income transfer from working Americans to holders of GSE debt. The Free Housing Market Enhancement Act also repeals the explicit grant of legal authority given to the Federal Reserve to purchase GSE debt. GSEs are the only institutions besides the United States Treasury granted explicit statutory authority to monetize their debt through the Federal Reserve. This provision gives the GSEs a source of liquidity unavailable to their competitors. The connection between the GSEs and the government helps isolate the GSE management from market discipline. This isolation from market discipline is the root cause of the recent reports of mismanagement occurring at Fannie and Freddie. After all, if Fannie and Freddie were not underwritten by the federal government, investors would demand Fannie and Freddie provide assurance that they follow accepted management and accounting practices. Ironically, by transferring the risk of a widespread mortgage default, the government increases the likelihood of a painful crash in the housing market. This is because the special privileges granted to Fannie and Freddie have distorted the housing market by allowing them to attract capital they could not attract under pure market conditions. As a result, capital is diverted from its most productive use into housing. This reduces the efficacy of the entire market and thus reduces the standard of living of all Americans. Despite the long-term damage to the economy inflicted by the government's interference in the housing market, the government's policy of diverting capital to other uses creates a short-term boom in housing. Like all artificially-created bubbles, the boom in housing prices cannot last forever. When housing prices fall, homeowners will experience difficulty as their equity is wiped out. Furthermore, the holders of the mortgage debt will also have a loss. These losses will be greater than they would have otherwise been had government policy not actively encouraged over-investment in housing. Perhaps the Federal Reserve can stave off the day of reckoning by purchasing GSE debt and pumping liquidity into the housing market, but this cannot hold off the inevitable drop in the housing market forever. In fact, postponing the necessary, but painful market corrections will only deepen the inevitable fall. The more people invested in the market, the greater the effects across the economy when the bubble bursts. No less an authority than Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has expressed concern that government subsidies provided to GSEs make investors underestimate the risk of investing in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Mr. Chairman, I would like to once again thank the Financial Services Committee for holding this hearing. I would also like to thank Secretaries Snow and Martinez for their presence here today. I hope today's hearing sheds light on how special privileges granted to GSEs distort the housing market and endanger American taxpayers. Congress should act to remove taxpayer support from the housing GSEs before the bubble bursts and taxpayers are once again forced to bail out investors who were misled by foolish government interference in the market. I therefore hope this committee will soon stand up for American taxpayers and investors by acting on my Free Housing Market Enhancement Act.Yes, I knew before I asked that some will divert from the fact that Ron Paul is right with things like "It's a cut and paste", or "he's a nutjob", etc. Why do you people bother answering at all? more

Resolved Question: Home Equity Loan..........please help!?

Ok, so I have real estate property that is worth around $200,000 and is already paid off. I am also a co-signer on another property that has a $400,000 debt that is being paid off. My credit score is not too good, but I do not have any overdue credit card bills. Will I be able to get a Home Equity Loan on the property that is already paid off? I live in New York City.Added: I also have about a $100,000 in the bank. Does that make any difference? more

Resolved Question: I'm severely underwater with current mortgage - Will this affect my chances of obtaining a loan for a new home?

I have a duplex. I rent one side and live in the other. I tried refinancing a month ago to take advantage of the low rates and got the "we can't help you because your appraisal came in at 43% lower" than the value I gave them for the application. The appraisal came in at $207,000 and I gave them $360,000 (because it was appraised for that much 2 years ago). The appraisal was severely affected by other "like" homes in town that have foreclosed. Now, we're not in financial trouble - we pay our mortgage every month and have very little debt. Here are the facts: Our combined income is about 140K annually. Current mortgage: $2150 (rent covers $1100 of this amount) Current balance on loan $271,000 Loan rejected!!! Okay... fine. This really made me angry/sad/depressed. I thought this would put a damper on to our plans as I had originally intended to refinance from a 30 year to a 15 year in an effort to build equity faster. We also had planned on putting our side of the duplex for rent and purchasing another home (in a better neighborhood) to live and raise our kids in. The plan was to keep this duplex and rent it out for the length of the mortgage and hopefully sell it at the end of the 15 year loan and put the profit towards our children's college education. My question is: How am I affected by this loan rejection? If I wanted to purchase another home for ourselves - Will the lenders look at my current property's loan/value ratio and say no to a new mortgage? I asked the lender that rejected our loan the same question and he said that the two property will have nothing to do with each other and that it would not affect us at all. I find it hard to beleive since they rejected my refinance attempt because of my current loan/value ratio. Why wouldn't they look at my current property's ratio when determining whether to give me another loan? Given my situation...Would I have any trouble obtaining a loan for the purchase of a new home while maintaining my current? Thanks in advance for your expert advice! more

Resolved Question: FHA vs Conventional Loan Question?

I am weighing out a FHA vs conventional loan. The reason I am even considering a conventional loan is because I cant seem to get any offer accepted in San Diego (I am offering 110 - 110% of list price). I keep missing out to ALL CASH offers and conventional loans... If I went conventional with 10% down, and I pay PMI. How long before I can have my home appraised and if I have 20% equity can I stop paying PMI? If I went FHA, how long after could I do an appraisal and if I have 20% equity and if the rates are still low could I possibly re-finance and then drop off the PMI? The negative to FHA that I see is that I pay up-front PMI (1.75%) and that I have to pay PMI for 5 years even if I have 20% equity in my house. The negative to conventional is that I have to come up with 10% to put down (minimum). If I put less, my PMI is crazy high and I can't do that. Otherwise both loans are the same rate... Any thoughts? more

Resolved Question: Want to take a 401k loan@4% to payoff high 10% apr 6yr car note, and 7% APR 10yr home equity loan?

Does this make sense to do. I will be taking a $17,000 loan @ 4% for 5 years, so the total interest paid will be about $1888. The interest paid is much higher for the car and euity loan. helppp more

Resolved Question: We offer loan at 4% interest rate?

Wipe away your debts today with no upfront fees to collect a loan. We are Sify Finance Company and Investors Comapany, a private and a certified financial company in England that gives loan to both individual and corporate body for just 4% interest rate. Our financial company have now been approved to give out International loan. Sify Finance offers Personal Loans, Secured Loans, International Loans ,Bank Loan, Loan Company, Cash Loan, Small Loan, Bad Credit Loans, Low Cost Loan, Home Owner Loans, Home ,Real Estate Loan, Improvement Loans, Equity Loans, Low Interest Loan, Best Secured Loan, Low Cost Loans, Bad Credit Finance, Secured Homeowner Loan, Cheapest Loan Rate, Budget Loans, Finance Loan Money, Best Secured Loan, Low Cost Home Owner Loan, Direct Loans, Secured Home Loan, Bad Credit Debt, Consolidation Self Employed Loan, Personal Loan Broke, Loan Application Form, Credit Card Loans, Horses Loan, House Loan, Interest Only Loan, Internet Loan, Joint Loan, Lifestyle Loans, Real Estate Loan, Cheap Loan Rate, Secure Homeowner Loans, Secured Bank Loan, Secured Finance Loan, Secured Financing, Secured Home Equity Loan, Homeowner Loan Application Form, Homeowner Loan Rate, Homeowner Secured Loans, Instant Decision Homeowner Loan, Instant Homeowner Loan, Personal Homeowner Loan, Refinance Loans and Personal Loan Bankruptcy etc. Come to us today and we will save you from any financial stress. Whatever your finance requirements, a loan from Sify Finance can always provide you with a competitive quote to provide you with the extra money you need. Talk to a Sify Finance company to discuss your loan requirements and they will work with you to understand your financial needs and will then find you a fund loan with the best possible terms and interest rates available to suit your circumstances. Your finance loan application will be processed quickly and a decision given as soon as possible. Once your finance loan has been approved the money will be transferred to you and you can then spend your money as you wish. You can contact us through moneyloan@sify.com and call us on (+44) 703 592 3302. Best Regard Sify Finance Company. more

Resolved Question: estate is named the beneficiary?

Will the lenders take dads life insurance death benefits because of fraud my brother the trustee is committing by not informing the HECM loan lenders of the death of the loan borrower,and cashing Dads monthly home equity paymentsHe wont tell us who the lender is he said "it's because we will mess thing up" more

Resolved Question: home equity loans....what's the deal?

what exactly is a home equity loan? can these loans be used for anything? like paying off bills, etc? how does this work? more

Voting Question: Using a home equity loan to buy a car question...?

If I use a home equity loan to buy a car, will I still need to have FULL COVERAGE auto insurance like I would with a normal car loan? If anyone knows, please let me know. Thanx.Kaitlyn, FYI, my credit score is 790 and my wife's is 780. We don't need your service that is for people who don't pay their bills. more

Resolved Question: Why do home equity rates varry so much?

I am looking into taking out a equity loan. I have 100% equity in a 140k home and I would like 85k out of it. I have been looking at rates and have notices that some banks are at 6-7% interest and others are around 10%. Why would there be the difference. Why would anyone take out a loan at a bank for 10% when they can walk down the street and get the same loan for 6%. Can someone please explain this more

Resolved Question: I need a fixed rate private student loan consolidation company ...?

I know this topic has been beaten to death, but I can't really find the best answer. I have about $65K in private student loans from Sallie Mae. I am looking to consolidate them in a fixed rate. I am getting concerned that rates will soon be on the rise and into double digits to curb the coming inflation. My credit score is around 780. I do not own a home so I can not use a home equity line to pay them off. Any suggestions or does anyone know of a bank or other financial institution that offers fixed consolidation? Thanks in advance! more

Voting Question: i baught my home cash, my name on deed. We both took a loan against equity now he splits?

I baught my home cash. I have been flipping property to take care of my children. Great fun and very profitable. Of course having my name on the deed of the home. Recentlymy husband hasnt come home for three nights. Ive caught him in so many lies. Im filing for divorse. We financed together against hopeful equity. Purchasing reliable vehicals, clearing a loan for him buying a few quads... Value now of the home. Homes actually less in value. What would Oregon state look likely on. I have two children, no transportaion right now. - heat in a few days. big DV MON. mine names on deed. i want out....... moving far away. more

Resolved Question: Does Private Mortgage Insurance change yearly?

I'm planning on buying a home and can only put 10% down. We are thinking about going with an CHFA loan, however there is an upfront fee of 1.75% of the principal balance that can be factored into the loan. This loan also has 1 point; so basically we are paying a 5% interest rate on 2.75 points. My question is will a CHFA loan be worth it if we are still paying 2.75 points and will the PMI remain at around .500% of our loan until we have 20% equity in the home? more

Resolved Question: I can pay off my existing mortgage which is 6.5% interest using our home equity line of credit at 4% int.?

The equity loan has a 10 year payoff limit but can normally be extended and our mortgage is for 30 years. I was just thinking how much money we could save in interest if we do it this way but let's face it, interest rates could go up on the equity. It's fixed at 1% below prime. more

Voting Question: Pay back: Home equity or wait? I need advice!?

Case scenerio: My husband and I owe my mother about $15K. We borrowed it last year and we would like to pay her back. Also...We have a very large home on 3 acres only minutes from the city but it is unfinished. The 2nd level only is 1300 sq ft - it is just framed, no insulation. Our family lives on the main floor and we still have a ton of room. How could we best put this together? Should we: Option#1: Apply for a home equity loan, hoping to get at least $15K. If we get more, we could partially finish the upstairs with insulation and pay my mother back. Do you get the full equity or a percentage? We have about $25K equity in the house. or..... Option #2: Use our credit card to begin finishing upstairs, raise the value of the home and then apply for home equity later? This option would mean paying my mother off LATER rather than EARLIER. Our home is large enough that we could get a (short term) boarder to help with expenses. Which do you recommend? I'm not very good at this stuff. more

Resolved Question: can a disabled person who doesn't have enough credits draw off of spouses credits?

my husband had a transplant, he doesn't qualify for ssi because i make to much. no help can we get. already have had to get 2 home equity loans. anybody know anything we can go to ,to get help. there has to be someway to draw disability. more

Resolved Question: What home buying options do I have with bad credit and no money?

My fiance and I found the perfect house, in a perfect area, with the perfect price. It's spacious, which is great, since we have two kids and three dogs (one is a Dane). The house is 82k. My fiance makes 50k/year. I make whatever comes my way doing web design. Our credit scores are in the low 500's. We have no money saved up (this kind of showed up outta the blue). We go see the inside on Monday, and I already know I want this house. We can't get a bank loan, besides our credit, because the house is deemed unlivable. It has no heat (yet) and there is some electricity and carpentry that needs to be done. I have a handy family, so, to me, it doesn't sound like a big deal. However, I don't know on what grounds they are deeming it unlivable. If we go Monday, and it's a wreck upstairs (the downstairs is fine, from what we could see through the windows), we'll say no. If it is something my family can fix, then we'll say heck yeah! I'll live downstairs until the upstairs is done, for all I care. Now, here's the big problem. Like I said, crap credit and no money. My dad can't help, he has his own house and father to care for, my mother has no job, but has pristine credit. My step father has great credit and gets paid a good bit, but he owns three houses, and I was told lenders looked down on that. If we like the house, we're going to talk to my future mother in law's real estate agent. She has crap credit too, but bought her 90k house with no money down. I hate to sit idle, though. I need to know if there is something we can do. I looked at hard money lenders, home equity loans, and home equity lines of credit. I'm buying an ebook tomorrow that gives me access to sub-prime lenders. Is there anything else I can do? Any realty agents on here that might know? We have never gone bankrupt or foreclosed, will I need a Letter of Explanation? If we can't get this house, then we'll build our credit and money for two years and get a manufactured home. We'll put it right in the utopia town we found. But for now, if there is something we can do, I want to do it. I'm not giving up just because I made some stupid mistakes when I was 18. Thank you to everyone who replies to this! Oh, and thanks for reading all that, it was a lot, ha ha! And I hate that freakin spell checker... It's as bad as that paper clip on Microsoft Word... One more thing, we would like to be able to get a loan in addition to the mortgage to fix up the house and put a furnace in... or a wood stove.Wow, awesome responses so far, thanks all. Apparently my score is in the higher 500's. Unfortunately, it's still bad, plus I'm not technically employed. It's my fiance's score that really matters, I think. We also have a car loan that's all paid on time, so I hope that looks good. Mrswearing- the furniture idea's a great one. I like buying stuff too haha. I think I'll try that. Sylvia- you definitely made me feel inspired! I'll check up on that info! Kemperk- well, what happened was I turned 18 and got cell phone plans and whatnot... I also don't like having a boss, so I couldn't keep a job. That's why I work for myself ;) Members of my family build houses, so depending on what needs to be done, I should be good there. Thanks again everyone!Turns out, I have options. FHA can approve the loan if we give them 5% down. That money can come from a relative, as well, as a "gift". Now all we need to do is see the house to see if it's worth it. Thanks ;)Oh and to the first person who responded, Sub-prime lenders do still exist, there just aren't many of them. That ebook was worth the 17 bucks. Lol, I'm not that poor. more

Resolved Question: Can you use the money from your home equity loan to buy another house?

Say I remodel my house, end up with 30k in equity, and take out a home equity loan for that amount. Can I turn around and use that 30k as a down payment on another property?Edit: The new property would be used to renovate/flip and sell. more

Voting Question: Modification loan with Wells fargo?

I am having trouble with financial because I borrow too much home equity loan to invest the house. Now, I want to do the modification loan from wells Fargo bank. I never late payment. My credit score still good. my house is still have about 10 percent of equity. However, my payment is too much with the dept. I don,t know the guide line to make the lender approve for my modification loan so i need some help from you. Do you know how to calculate and fill out the finance sheets? Do you know the guide line to successfull on modification loan? Thanks more

Voting Question: FHA APPROVED FOUNDATION?

Purchased mobile home and property cash. Want to take out an equity loan. Was a hud home. On titile states house sits on permanent foundation. How can I tell if the foundation is fha approved. Would the realtor know? The city? Please don't respond with an idiotic answer. I get alot of those on here. Just want good adcvice. Thank you. more

Voting Question: Where to spend surplus cash?

I have about $60,000 in my cash accounts (banking and savings). Some of this money is in a savings account that I would consider my emergency funds. I have a very generous retirement program of about 12% of my salary, which has been established for about the last 6 years. I am 33 years old, with a wife that has a job and a generous retirement plan and 1 baby. I have some other small mutual funds that I started from savings which are 3-10 years old and have a current value of approximately 12,000 dollars. I have a mortgage. We purchased it for $579,000, and we put down 10%. The first loan was a 7 year arm at a rate of 6.5%, and the second loan was a home equity line of credit for $ 57,900. The second loan is a variable rate, pegged to the prime rate. When I first started that loan, it was at 8.5 %, but it is now as low as 4.2 percent. This, of course, changes with the prime rate. The first loan I pay on principle, and the current debt service is $ 448,000. The second loan is interest only, and still has a principle balance of $57,900. The down turn in the housing market has left me with only about 2-4% equity in my home as the latest appraisal was only $520,000 My only other debt is a car loan which has a balance of 15,000 and a rate of 5.25%. What should I do with this extra cash? Do I: 1. Pay down that line of credit? (obviously this has a variable rate that can change, and is currently taking up 100% of my line of credit which impacts my credit score) 2. Buy a second property? There are some good deals out there for a second home (i.e. condo in Florida) or a rental property. This would be an investment property since we can get something very cheap, but the downside is managing the property. 3. Put it in an invest vehicle? A mutual fund, bonds, etc. 4. Leave it in my savings account? 5. Or something else? How much of that cash should I keep in my account versus investing or paying of my debt? more

Resolved Question: If I am current on my 1st mortgage loan but default on my 2nd loan ..can the 2nd lienholder foreclose on my ..?

home? The 1st mortgage is current I owe them $250k. The property value is only $215k. The 2nd lienholder are "private investors"; and they have sent me a trustee sale notice which has no opening bid. I matched the recorders office instrument # and it belongs to another property which is not even my property! to me it seems like they are faking the notice of trustee sale becuase it is not recorded? I have been getting advice out there and Ive been told I can file a bankrupty ch13. What to do ? help? Can they foreclose even though my 1st mortgage is being payed current ? and plus there is no equity? ps I stopped paying because I couldt afford to pay these private investors anymore an interest rate of 13%. also the property is in California, LA county more

Voting Question: bankruptcy- Can you lose your primary residence? What if you have a home equity loan as well?

Just thinking about my options if things don't get better. more

Voting Question: Would someone explain how prop taxes are determined and diff b/t FHA & conv loans?

I plan to purchase a house w/in the next couple of mos as my apt. least will be up in August. 1) Regarding property taxes, how are they determined? I spoke to the local appraisal district who said that it's based on the sale price (contracted) of the house. So if a house is listed for $149K and I get it for $145K and put a homestead exemption on it, which reduces the value by $15K, will I only pay taxes on $130K? Do nearby properties affect the taxes on your home? What does affect the amt. of taxes you pay? 2) I spoke w/a broker recently who told me that ppl who have excellent credit, like myself, and who put 20% or more down are not being approved for convention loans. So right now, it is really difficult or just impossible to get a conv loan? I am unable to put 20% down so she's saying I should go w/an FHA loan. However, I've read that you can put less than 20% down on conv. Should this broker show me the comparisons side-by-side? Seems like she just wants to do FHA w/me and I read somewhere that brokers get paid more when doing FHA compared to conv. Regarding the PMI/MIP on these loans, also read that MIP on FHA last the ENTIRE length of loan; it doesn't matter if you've got a certain amt. of equity. But she told me on a 30-yr loan, my MIP would go away after 11-12 yrs. Whereas on conv, when you got the equity, the PMI disappears. How much is typical PMI? Does the amt. of the loan determine it? Any thoughts, suggestions, etc? I live in Southeast TX north of Houston. more

Resolved Question: How can I get my credit score the 7 points it needs?

I tried to get an equity loan out of my house and they said everything is in order but that I need 7 more points on my credit. How can I get 7 more points onto my credit? I really do not want to have to open up a credit card because I have never had one and don't really need one. They said my income is good, my employment is good and everything else is good but that I need more credit history. I don't understand because when I purchased my home I was debt free and owed no one, so why are they asking me to open something up in order to get the points.? It took me a long time to become debt free and I really do not want to have to incur debt in order to get equity out of my house. I have had my house since 02 and have never taken equity out, I have over 100% equity and would like to get some-I deserve it. :) more

Resolved Question: Is now a good time to buy a house in Victoia, Australia?

Hey. Me and my missus have a baby on the way (due in about 3 months) and my missus is hell bent on buying a house before the baby is born as her house (which she owns) is a tiny two bedroom miners cottage. She doesn't think it will be suitable for a kid. Now, we have no deposit and do not plan on selling her house and cant use it as equity due to her being bankrupt. Now my brother and a few others who are around 5 years older and seem to have their lives well sorted are telling me now is not the time to buy, that i should wait until housing prices drop. But by that time the fist home buyers grant (about 23,000) will be over. Would it be better to buy a house now with a 100% loan or wait until th house prices are lwer by which time I will have at least 5% deposit, but out of pocket $23,000 with the grant... like will house prices drop by more than 23,000? We are living in Ballarat and looking at houses in the 150,000 to 180,000 price range. Thanks heaps Chris.OK... to clarify, we are not considered a couple as far as the law is concerned, i have a seperate address and we will not be changing this, even after we have bought a house she will still maintain a separate address. As for the 100% loan, we will be using the FHB grant as a deposit, and we can show genuine savings of around $10,000 (borrowed off a friend) and my mortgage provider ensures me this will be enough to qualify. Thanks... keep the advice coming :)I would just like to clarify that $7,000 worth of our savings is ours, we have only borrowed $3,000 from others :) more

Resolved Question: Finally paid off the Credit Cards and the Car... How can I get a home loan in Australia ?

I am 35 single and have finally paid off all the credit cards and the car loan... I really want to buy a unit in town under $300 K. I will be renting out at least one room to share the debt. I am renting a unit and want to get a more stable housing status so no one can kick me out or make me move. I want to build equity as well....Any ideas?? more

Resolved Question: if you go foreclosure in Michigan, do you quit your payment on a home equity loan also and what happens?

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Voting Question: Is it possible to get a home equity loan or 2nd mortgage......?

Is it possible to get a home equity loan or 2nd mortgage with a poor credit score. The one thing we have going for us is that our house is completely paid off. We have no credit cards and our vehicles are also paid off. The only debt we have are some medical bills that we are making payments on which is around $2500. My wife and I are both employed and make decent income of around $6000 monthly. We just have some things coming up to where we would like a loan for around $15,000. I think our credit score is around 590 :( . (We ran in to some difficulty when I lost my job and had a baby born with a disability and medical bills piled up). But with that much equity and such a low score would there be a loan company that would work with us? Would our local bank be able to help or should I check around on the net that specialize in bad credit loans? Any recommendations? Thanks!Thank you all so much for such great answers and some great explanations! Our original loan for our house was over 10 years ago so I don't remember much about how all of that loan stuff works. We have never checked in to a equity loan so I know nothing about them except for some research on the net. I think I'll start with my local bank and go from there. Thank you all! Danity......I have no idea what you meant by your answer!One more quick note. I was not working for quite some time due to a back injury that ended in surgery. I have now been back to work for a little over a year now though. My wife has been a teacher for 12 years. So, we had a 2 year span to where our credit went down the drain but the last year have been on time with what little debts we do have. I was also thinking it would be difficult to raise our credit score without having any credit out there. Maybe starting with a credit card and just using it for small purchases and paying off the balance each month would be one way. I was also thinking with the equity loan would really help rebuild our credit with timely payments. My son needs some extensive dental work and that is why we are wanting a equity loan to pay for that and other services he needs due to his disability. more

Voting Question: Should I go to a fixed rate?

I have a adjustable rate witch is changing to 3.87% with a 2 point cap yearly and was at 5.37%, is it worth the coast to refinance at a 30 year fixed rate of 4.875% with no points. I have a 30,000 home equity line witch can not be rolled in to the loan (Oboma ) plan. The house is worth about 240,000 and I owe 226,000 plus the 30,000 home line. This is a tough one to make, save $260.00 a month now but who knows 2 yers down the road with things don't straighten out ,could be at 7.875% more

Resolved Question: What is the best way to improve my spouse's and my credit rating.?

My wife and my credit rating is poor being around 590. What is the best way to improve our score? I know paying all our debt on time but currently we have no debt except for a few medical bills we make payments on. We have not credit cards. I house is paid off and valued at around $135,000. We it help to get a home equity loan or 2nd mortgage just to have some debt out there that we can make timely payments on to improve our credit? I guess I'm wondering how we can improve our credit without having any type of loan or credit cards to make timely payments on. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for any comments!I was also leaning towards equity loan to help pay for some extensive dental work my son needs. He also has a disability and we continually have bills towards getting the extra help needed for him to succeed. We do have our house paid off so we have a lot of equity in it. It's valued at $135000. Making a payment would not be a problem as we both work. I am a union boilermaker and she is a teacher so we make a decent income. We just got ourselves in some credit problems when I was injured and wasn't able to work for a couple years. After redoing our budget we can easily afford a loan payment of aprox $1500 a month so even if it has to be a bigger loan due to having our house paid off we can easily afford it. Hearing this would this change any comments that were made? We also have our 2 vehicles paid off and do not currently need new vehicles. more

Resolved Question: I have a 1st and 2nd mortgage should I refinance into one?

My 2nd mortgage will be paid in 3 years, I have been paying an extra 100.00 a month to get it paid off quicker. Would it be wise at this point to combine the two or wait until I pay the 2nd off.even though the interest would be a lot less to combine them. If I combine the two it will make my value close to the total loan and will take years to build up equity again. I am worried if something would happen to me that my daughter would get stuck with a mess if the house could not sell for what is was worth if I refinance to save interest now. I keep thinking I would be better off to wait and refinance later on just the 1st so I would be refinancing and also havin equity in my home because I would not be borrowing less that what the house is worth. more

Resolved Question: Is Debt Consolidation a good idea?

I am interested in debt consolidation so that I can have more flexibility to invest my "extra income." Right now I can pay all my bills (Credt cards/auto loans/etc..) with relative ease, but a lower overall payment and the convenience of one payment as opposed to 7 would be nice. Is it wise to consolidate or take out a home equity loan for less than $25,000? more

Resolved Question: i co-signed a home equity line and now the original mortgage is going into a deed in lieu if forclosure. will?

the bank hold me responsible for paying off the loan more