Home Equity Loans.....best rate?

[DawnM]

DH wants me to do the investigating for our home loan.....this would be a 2nd. We are needing some home improvement/repairs for getting this house up for sale.

I am SICK of calling lenders....they are brutal and rude.

The best rate so far that I have gotten is 7.84% on a 2nd Mortgage fixed.

Anyone know where to get a better rate?

We want fixed for 15 years (would consider fewer years). Our home is a little over 50% paid for and we owe on nothing else and have credit ratings over 7.4.

Thanks,

Dawn

 

[TheRustyScupper]

As of 5/6/08:

HELOC (Line of Credit) - 4.87%
Equity Loan (Fixed Loan Amount) - 7.67%

 

[brentalex]

Have you tried to use lending tree? I have used them in the past for a 1st mortgage, and got some decent rates. the lenders they pick for you will likely call you once you fill out the info. But it is a place to get a few rates at once.

 

[PrincessDadx2]

Go with Pentagon Federal

www.penfed.org

They have 10 year fixed at 4.99% for up to 80% LTV. No fees either. Anyone can join for a $25 donation to the National Military Family Association. You can do everything online and my closing was in about 3 weeks.

 

[ICan'tWait]

USAA offering 6.34 for 15 and 6.59 for 20. I was able to get my local bank US Bank to match that. Good luck!

 

[DawnM]

Oh, that is good. I just called them and got all the info on fees and rates and it looks good!

Thanks.

Dawn

Go with Pentagon Federal

www.penfed.org

They have 10 year fixed at 4.99% for up to 80% LTV. No fees either. Anyone can join for a $25 donation to the National Military Family Association. You can do everything online and my closing was in about 3 weeks.

 

[DawnM]

Hmmmm....I would love to get BofA to match other rates. We were with a credit union in CA and I miss it.

Dawn

USAA offering 6.34 for 15 and 6.59 for 20. I was able to get my local bank US Bank to match that. Good luck!

 

[DawnM]

Yes, and now I have gotten 7 calls today! All give me around the same rates.

Dawn

Have you tried to use lending tree? I have used them in the past for a 1st mortgage, and got some decent rates. the lenders they pick for you will likely call you once you fill out the info. But it is a place to get a few rates at once.

 

[MN_Gal]

We just got a quote for a Home Eq loan of prime + .85% (as of today 5.87%) through Wells Fargo.

 

[JeffPort]

If you are preparing the house for sale, why would you want a long-term fixed-rate loan? You'd be paying (in a higher interest rate) for a loan duration that you are almost assuredly not going to use.

In such a situation, you are much better of with a HELOC that will provide you with a much lower variable rate (usually pegged to Prime) and many of them will allow you to pay interest only until you sell the house -- meaning much lower out-of-pocket. There are also many out there that will close your line of credit at no cost.

 

[bdcp]

Go with Pentagon Federal

www.penfed.org

They have 10 year fixed at 4.99% for up to 80% LTV. No fees either. Anyone can join for a $25 donation to the National Military Family Association. You can do everything online and my closing was in about 3 weeks.

Be aware that the Pentagon credit union has an interesting way of appraising homes. My neighbor who has been a member for a long time applied for an equity LOC and their credit is excellent, but when the appraisal came in, it didnt' come in based on comps, it came in based on what it would sell for in something like 60 days which is much lower than the comps here and we live in a high cost of living area where the real estate market has always been pretty decent. It's just their way of clamping down on how much they loan out. So,unless you have a lot of equity, Pentagon credit union might not be the best route.

I currently have a HELOC with prime -.50 through my credit union which is a great rate currently.

 

[DawnM]

When I talked to them over the phone they said that they would base it on our tax evaluation (up to 80% of the value of that) and if we wanted more we would have to pay for an appraisal. The tax value came in at around $400K (comps are around $500K to $550K) and we currently only owe $220K, so we have a good sum there and don't need even that much.

Dawn

Be aware that the Pentagon credit union has an interesting way of appraising homes. My neighbor who has been a member for a long time applied for an equity LOC and their credit is excellent, but when the appraisal came in, it didnt' come in based on comps, it came in based on what it would sell for in something like 60 days which is much lower than the comps here and we live in a high cost of living area where the real estate market has always been pretty decent. It's just their way of clamping down on how much they loan out. So,unless you have a lot of equity, Pentagon credit union might not be the best route.

I currently have a HELOC with prime -.50 through my credit union which is a great rate currently.

 

[odc146]

I just did a home equity loan through lending tree. The bank I went with was Charter One. We received a rate of 6.89 fixed for 20 yrs. The only fee was 125.00. I just filed out their online form and then they emailed me 2 offers I googled the banks they provided and then chose Charter One. The representative I dealt with was great, friendly and really efficient. Good Luck.

 

[DVC-Don]

We have a HELoC with State Farm FSB @ 5.25%.

*Checked my last months statement and was off a percent.

 

[Chicago526]

don't forget to compare closing costs, one bank may have a slightly higher rate but much lower closing costs, if the closing costs are signifigantly lower you may be better off with a slightly higher rate.

 

[DawnM]

Really? Is that a fixed rate or a variable. The rates on State Farm's website are much higher than that.

Dawn

We have a HELoC with State Farm FSB @ 4.25%.

 

[DawnM]

Well, I have just had friends who were so excited about a 4% interest rate only to have the interest rate go up to 8% because it was variable.

We are planning to sell in 2 years, but it may be a tad longer. So this isn't a 6 month deal. But maybe we should consider it.

Dawn

If you are preparing the house for sale, why would you want a long-term fixed-rate loan? You'd be paying (in a higher interest rate) for a loan duration that you are almost assuredly not going to use.

In such a situation, you are much better of with a HELOC that will provide you with a much lower variable rate (usually pegged to Prime) and many of them will allow you to pay interest only until you sell the house -- meaning much lower out-of-pocket. There are also many out there that will close your line of credit at no cost.

 

[DVC-Don]

Really? Is that a fixed rate or a variable. The rates on State Farm's website are much higher than that.

Dawn

Whoops! I just pulled last month statement and it was 5.25% then. A year ago it was 8.75%.

 

[bdcp]

When I talked to them over the phone they said that they would base it on our tax evaluation (up to 80% of the value of that) and if we wanted more we would have to pay for an appraisal. The tax value came in at around $400K (comps are around $500K to $550K) and we currently only owe $220K, so we have a good sum there and don't need even that much.

Dawn

Wow, basing it on 80% of tax evaluation (assessment) would be an even lower amount. Tax assessments do not represent true value in any way.

 

[Helene]

Go with Pentagon Federal

www.penfed.org

They have 10 year fixed at 4.99% for up to 80% LTV. No fees either. Anyone can join for a $25 donation to the National Military Family Association. You can do everything online and my closing was in about 3 weeks.

We recently closed with them. In fact, our first payment is due the 14th.

I found the process to take a bit longer than some of the more traditional ways I've done them in the past. I was willing to be patient though since I couldn't find anything that came close to that rate.
I did have to pay for an appraisal which, for me, was OK. Overall, I was happy I went with them & would recommended them to others.