Found 10 blog entries tagged as Refinancing.

when is it a good idea to use a home equity loan

What Is A Home Equity Loan?

A home equity loan is a type of loan that allows you to use the equity of your Santa Cruz home as collateral. It is an option that homeowners have available to them and that some people use to pay for major expenses such as home renovations, college education or medical bills.

These types of loans became popular in 1996 because they provided a way for consumers to circumvent their tax charges for that year, which eliminated the deductions on the interest for most consumer purchases.

Are Home Equity Loans A Good Idea?

It is a good idea to leverage your shelter for cash? What is a legitimate reason for taking out a home equity loan? It can be tempting to use the equity you have in your property to pay for…

1875 Views, 0 Comments

As the federal reserve continues to taper quantitative easing measures, financial experts project mortgage Santa Cruz interest rates will climb in the next two years. Could this be the much awaited ray of light at the end of the proverbial tunnel for builders and investors or will it drive hesitant home buyers to dig in and shelter in place?

Homeowners who are vacillating between refinancing for a lower interest rate and staying the course may find the time has come to make a decision.

Shrinking unemployment numbers and rising retail sales figures signal that the economy is improving. Even if no one is ready to label the US economy as recovered, Fed Chairman Janet Yellon's decision to follow through on tapering plans reinforces other market…

1457 Views, 0 Comments

When you first bought your Santa Cruz home a few years ago, perhaps you started off with a 30 year mortgage. Now, you are considering refinancing and changing it to a 20 year or even a 15 year mortgage. Shortening your mortgage term and refinancing can be a smart financial move, but before you make this decision there are a number of factors that you should consider.

Switching to a shorter mortgage will mean that your monthly payments will be higher, but you will be 100% paid off much sooner and you will save thousands of dollars in interest rates. Here are a few of the factors to consider before making this decision:

Has Your Situation Improved?
Perhaps you have moved to a higher paying position, allowing you to earn a higher income and pay off more…

1727 Views, 0 Comments

When preparing for a closing on your refinance or home purchase, one of the documents you will be provided with a few days before closing is a HUD-1 Form. This form provides you with valuable information about your loan.

While at first, this three page document may seem intimidating, if you understand what you see in each section, it is not as confusing as you might think. Let's break down the various parts of the HUD-1 and talk about what they mean.

Loan Information
On the first page of your HUD1, you will see your loan information at the top. This includes the type of mortgage (such as FHA or VA), property location, loan amount and the date of closing. This information is very basic but also is very important to review for accuracy.

Buyer And…

3009 Views, 0 Comments

Here’s a tricky question that has been on the mind of many Santa Cruz home owners – should you use any spare cash that you have to pay off the mortgage on your home as quickly as possible or would it be a better plan to invest your money? This is one of the most hotly debated questions in the world of personal finance and either option has been defended with plenty of reasons from experts. 

The truth is that there are a lot of considerations to take in mind when you are thinking of whether you should invest or pay off your mortgage. On the one hand, paying off your home as soon as possible will mean that you save thousands of dollars on interest over the length of the loan and that you will have the satisfaction and security of finally fully owning…

1576 Views, 0 Comments

You have found a home and are ready to apply for financing. Your pre-approval amount comes back not as high as you would have expected and at an interest rate significantly above what your friends just got on their loan. This could be because you have an average to poor credit score.

Mortgage lenders base their interest rates on many things, but your credit score plays a large part. Anything between 720 and 850 will typically get you better interest rates. A mediocre score is usually between 660 and 719, and a low score is 659 and under. If you have a lower score than you’d like, below are a few traits for you to follow of people who receive high financial marks.

They don’t max out their cards.

It’s better to keep a low revolving balance on a few…

1711 Views, 0 Comments

You may have heard of points when looking for Santa Cruz real estate.  Maybe your loan officer told you that you can trade points for a better interest rate.  That sounds good, but just what are points? Let me give you a better idea of just what points are and how they work.

What Are Points?
Points, more specifically discount points, are a percentage of the total loan amount for the house that is pre-paid to the lender.  Each point is worth one percent.  Your lender may offer a lower interest rate for your mortgage loan if you buy discount points.

What do Discount Points Cost?
The cost of each point is equal to one percent of the loan amount. For instance, for a $200,000 loan one discount point equals $2,000.

For example, you are trying to buy…

1489 Views, 0 Comments

It used to be that you spent 50 years at a company and 50 years in your Santa Cruz home, and when you retired, your home mortgage was (happily) paid off. Times have changed. Certainly, few people spend their entire careers at one company, and now many retirees are shrugging off the conventional wisdom of paying off their homes at retirement. 

Here are some points to consider if you are pondering using your savings to dispose of that mortgage on your Santa Cruz home:

• Home Value: If you are one of the unhappy folks who are underwater (that is, the value of your home is less than what you owe on the mortgage), then paying off the mortgage will secure your credit from any possible foreclosure issues should you have cash flow problems later. But paying…

1165 Views, 0 Comments

Divorce is hard enough without having to deal with the frustration of dividing assets. However, when it comes to valuable items such as property, you need to make sure you’re taking the logistical steps necessary to appraise and distribute your Santa Cruz real estate.

Determining Value

• Hire an appraiser – If you and your soon-to-be ex can’t come to an agreement on the value of your home, then you might want to consider employing an appraiser to come to a decision for you.

• Get help from a real estate agent – A more cost-effective, but maybe not the most precise, way to determine the value of your property is to ask Santa Cruz real estate agents to estimate the cost. They’ll usually charge you little to nothing, and you can use this as a way to…

1374 Views, 0 Comments

As the need for home loan modifications has increased, so has the number of home loan modification scams.  Like all scams, they aren’t always easy to detect.  To help you identify loan modification scammers, here are five things to watch out for:

1. Asking for payment up front. This can be masked as a house payment, insurance payment or a deposit. No matter what they tell you it’s for, do not give it to them in advance of work being performed and contracts being signed.  If you do give payment up front, at best, you’ll pay for work that could have been done for free through other non-profit organizations or loan modification assistance programs. At worst, no work will be done, you’ll never see your money again, and you’ll no longer have time to save…

1389 Views, 0 Comments