Mortgage, Home Loans, Refinance, Home Equity

Explaining Equity Loans

Equity loans is money you borrow on the equity of your home. This means, for the most part, you have to be a homeowner, although there are other ways of getting an equity loan. If you decide that the timing is right for this type of loan, ask your friends or family for recommendations of lenders. When considering a home equity loan, you are putting up your home as collateral. It can offer special interest rates, and even tax incentives, which you should consult with a tax adviser about. You can use this loan as a home improvement loan. You can also it to pay for your kid’s tuition. There are many ways in which you can use an equity loan.
You should always consider shopping around when searching for any type of loan. Compare quotes to ensure you get the best rates possible. One lender may offer you something entirely different than another lender. It’s your job to do the research and figure out where you can get the best deal.
There are some unscrupulous lenders trying to make a quick buck off of people getting home equity loans, so it’s important to be careful and understand what you are getting yourself into. Below is an article that will help you understand what you need to look out for:
Do you own your home? If so, it's likely to be your greatest single asset. Unfortunately, if you agree to a loan that's based on the equity you have in your home, you may be putting your most valuable asset at risk.
Homeowners-particularly elderly, minority and those with low incomes or poor credit-should be careful when borrowing money based on their home equity. Why? Certain abusive or exploitative lenders target these borrowers, who unwittingly may be putting their home on the line.
Abusive lending practices range from equity stripping and loan flipping to hiding loan terms and packing a loan with extra charges. The Federal Trade Commission urges you to be aware of these loan practices to avoid losing your home.

Equity Stripping

You need money. You don't have much income coming in each month. You have built up equity in your home. A lender tells you that you could get a loan, even though you know your income is just not enough to keep up with the monthly payments. The lender encourages you to "pad" your income on your application form to help get the loan approved.
This lender may be out to steal the equity you have built up in your home. The lender doesn't care if you can't keep up with the monthly payments. As soon as you don't, the lender will foreclose-taking your home and stripping you of the equity you have spent years building. If you take out a loan but don't have enough income to make the monthly payments, you are being set up. You probably will lose your home.

Hidden Loan Terms: The Balloon Payment

You've fallen behind in your mortgage payments and may face foreclosure. Another lender offers to save you from foreclosure by refinancing your mortgage and lowering your monthly payments. Look carefully at the loan terms. The payments may be lower because the lender is offering a loan on which you repay only the interest each month. At the end of the loan term, the principal-that is, the entire amount that you borrowed-is due in one lump sum called a balloon payment. If you can't make the balloon payment or refinance, you face foreclosure and the loss of your home.

Loan Flipping

Suppose you've had your mortgage for years. The interest rate is low and the monthly payments fit nicely into your budget, but you could use some extra money. A lender calls to talk about refinancing, and using the availability of extra cash as bait, claims it's time the equity in your home started "working" for you. You agree to refinance your loan. After you've made a few payments on the loan, the lender calls to offer you a bigger loan for, say, a vacation. If you accept the offer, the lender refinances your original loan and then lends you additional money. In this practice-often called "flipping"-the lender charges you high points and fees each time you refinance, and may increase your interest rate as well. If the loan has a prepayment penalty, you will have to pay that penalty each time you take out a new loan.
You now have some extra money and a lot more debt, stretched out over a longer time. The extra cash you receive may be less than the additional costs and fees you were charged for the refinancing. And what's worse, you are now paying interest on those extra fees charged in each refinancing. Long story short? With each refinancing, you've increased your debt and probably are paying a very high price for some extra cash. After a while, if you get in over your head and can't pay, you could lose your home.

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