| Home equity loan avoids fees of refinancing mortgage
Q. I would like to refinance my adjustable-rate mortgage to lock in one of today's low rates. But I don't want to pay a lot of fees for a new mortgage that would actually make my monthly payments bigger over the next year. Refinancing would cost thousands, which seems like an awful lot for a loan of only about $80,000. What should I do? A. You might consider a home equity loan instead of an ordinary mortgage. Many home equity loans are unusually attractive now. Yours is a dilemma that confronts many homeowners with adjustable mortgages, or ARMs: They may be happy with the low interest rates they're paying today - in many cases only 4 percent or so - but they worry their rates will rise in the future. It would be nice to lock into a low fixed rate, but refinancing fees can total thousands.
Chase Adopts Loan Benefits to Help Expanding Families
Chase today introduced New Additions, a discounted home-equity loan program to help families pay the often steep expenses of adopting a child. "Adding a child to the family brings great joy, but the costs involved -- fees, travel, time missed at work and upgrading your home-can be sobering" said Brad Conner, President of Chase Home Equity. "So we created Chase New Additions, which will help homeowners tap their equity more easily and less expensively" Chase New Additions provides an introductory rate discount on home-equity lines for adoptive families. In addition, borrowers are served by dedicated lenders available online or by phone. "I applaud Chase for reducing the expenses for families who have so much on their minds" said Rita Soronen, Executive Director for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.
The No-Equity Loan Trap
THANKS TO SOARING home prices and the fantastic mortgage rates we've seen over the past few years, millions of homeowners have tapped their home's equity to pay off bills or fund a remodeling project. And in many cases, this can be a smart thing to do. But it's one thing to draw on the value of your home and another to exceed it. Falling prey to what's known as a "no-equity home-equity loan" not only could cost you a small fortune in interest rates and fees, but it could put your home at risk. A no-equity home loan is simply a confusing name for a high loan-to-value (LTV) home-equity loan, in which the amount you're borrowing surpasses your home's total value often by as much as 25%. This creates a sort of a hybrid secured/unsecured loan. Not surprisingly, these risky loans are aimed at the truly cash-strapped.
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