Homeowners across the nation continue to turn to cash out refinance and home equity loans for paying off high rate credit cards that are escalating out of control. The Federal Reserve lowered key rates again yesterday, but many homeowners just can’t take the combination of rising adjustable mortgage rates at the same as the increasing interest rates from their credit card companies. Unfortunately, recent changes to the bankruptcy laws have led to minimum credit card payments being doubled by the bank lenders who issued the credit. As consumer debt grows so to do the worries of homeowners across the nation who may be facing a foreclosure on their home. It makes sense to utilize the equity you have left to help refinance an eliminate the debts that are causing you the most pain.
Bankruptcy used to be the way people got out from under burdensome credit card debt. But, under the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) of 2005 filing for bankruptcy is prohibitively expensive, complicated and time consuming. This may be why fixed rate home equity loans have become popular methods for refinancing high-interest credit card debt, particularly for those with low credit scores.
Critics suggest that credit card accounts are not secured by your home. But then, the interest is not tax deductible. Most first or second mortgage loans carry mortgage interest that is tax deductible. Home equity loans are calculated with simple interest terms and revolving credit cards are calculated with compounding interest.
While credit card advocates point out that the loan terms for refinance and home equity loans are typically longer than credit cards, they are not forthcoming with the penalty rates and additional costs added to the compounding interest. Many consumers are beginning to realize that fixed interest terms are more realistic for actually paying off your debts.
Borrower like the home refinance loans, because they can get a reduced interest rate that offers an affordable payment. The adjustable rate mortgages have caused a real stir in 2008 as foreclosure and payment default rates have reached record highs in states like California, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Virginia and Massachusetts. With new FHA initiatives, homeowners can refinance their ARM with a FHA home mortgage that now allows cash back and debt consolidation. FHA used to limit home refinancing to rate and term guidelines that prohibited any cash back or bill consolidation. FhA also allows bad credit, limited credit and loans for first time home buyers.
By: Maria Ny
Posts Tagged ‘Rate Home Equity’
FHA Home Mortgage Loans – Refinance Adjustable Rates and Debt
April 26th, 2010Florida Home Equity Loans – Refinancing a Home Equity Loan
April 14th, 2010
During the last five years, Florida home values have practically doubled in cities like Orlando, Miami, Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale, Clearwater, and Sarasota. Many homeowners reaped the benefits during this time and borrowed from the equity in their home. If you are part of this crowd, now may be a good time to consider refinancing your Florida home equity loan. While refinancing may not be right for everyone, it can be very beneficial to some. Good reasons to refinance include:
Better Interest Rates
Interest rates in the state of Florida are constantly changing. If you took out a fixed rate home equity loan while rates were high, or if you now have better credit, refinancing your Florida home equity loan could save you a lot of money. You’ll have to be very careful though. Lower monthly payments may not offset closing cost fees. For example, if your closing costs come to $3,000 and you save $100 per month, it will take you 30 months to break even.
Avoid a Balloon Payment
Taking on a Florida home equity loan that has a balloon payment can save you money in the beginning of the loan term, but coming up with that final balloon payment can be difficult. Refinancing your home equity loan will allow you to avoid the balloon payment altogether.
Extract More Equity Cash
When dipping into your equity, it can be very hard to determine how much money to borrow. If you didn’t take out enough the first time around, refinancing your Florida home equity loan will provide all of the benefits mentioned above and allow you to extract a bit more cash from your equity.
By: Jane Hale
Cash Out Refinance Loans At 16-Year High
February 9th, 2010
Homeowners continue to prefer cash out refinance loans to other forms of borrowing. Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, says,
“Mortgage borrowers continue to refinance their mortgages at a higher frequency than historically would have occurred given the rise in mortgage rates over this year. But the wide proliferation of adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) originated in the past few years that are nearing their first interest-rate adjustment provides borrowers an incentive to refinance into a lower-cost ARM or fixed-rate mortgage. In addition, borrowers who might have considered a prime rate home equity loan for a home improvement or other need are turning to cash out refinance options now that the prime rate is above 8 percent.”
Beyond just converting an adjustable-rate loan to a fixed-rate loan, borrowers are also cashing out their equity. Almost 90 percent of Freddie Mac refinance loans are for amounts at least 5 percent higher than the original mortgage. The most recent Cash Out Refinance Report from the mortgage giant shows that homes refinanced during the third quarter of 2006 had experienced a median price appreciation of 33 percent since the original loan was made. The median age of the original loan was 3.4 years.
It is this accrued equity that homeowners are tapping into to pay off high-interest credit cards, to fund home improvement projects, or to finance their children’s college education. An added benefit is that interest paid on a mortgage is tax deductible (usually up to $100,000 for taxpayers filing jointly).
Since a cash out refinance loan results in a new mortgage, it incurs closing costs, filing and legal fees, and other expenses that can add up to thousands of dollars. This makes refinancing unwise for people planning to move in the next few years as they will not have time to recoup their refinancing costs.
Bad Credit Refinancing
For borrowers with less than perfect credit, a refinance loan is the smartest way to get needed cash. Bad credit usually means a FICO score below 620. This FICO number reflects credit-worthiness based on borrowing habits, payment history and other financial factors. Creditors use it when deciding whether to make a loan and what interest rate to charge. The lower the credit score, the higher the risk for the lender. But since a refinance loan is secured by real property, the risk is minimized and the interest rate is better.
According to Steven Frank, Senior Vice President at FlexPoint Funding,
“A ‘subprime’ borrower can expect to pay between 1.5 percent and 2 percent higher interest for a mortgage, but there is no shortage of money in the subprime loan market. Most subprime borrowers won’t qualify for a second mortgage or a home equity line of credit. They will have to refinance their first mortgage if they want to cash out some of their equity. Depending on their personal situation, a homeowner may be able to borrow up to 95 percent LTV (loan to value). More likely, it will be in the 80 percent range.”
You can learn more about bad credit refinancing and get a free loan quote at sites like Simple Mortgage Refinancing [http://www.simple-mortgage-refinancing.com] and Bad Credit Mortgage Refinancing Now.
By: Mike Hamel