Posts tagged Home Equity
What is a Freddie Mac Cash Out Refinance?

In this post, we’ll review the terms and eligibility requirements for the Freddie Mac cash-out refinance loan in order to help borrowers determine whether this is a good option for their individual needs.

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Positive Equity Isn't Always a Positive Thing

“Average homeowner gained $16,000 in home equity in 1 year.” That’s not a clickbait headline, it’s from Housing Wire, a publication of note for the mortgage industry.

If you’ve read many of these columns, you know that I’m a veteran of the real estate crash. Or, maybe I contributed to it… it all kind of depends on your point of view, I guess. Anyway, as I read further into this article, I learned that negative equity (also known as being “underwater”) fell another 9%, leaving only 4.3% of mortgaged homes underwater nationally.

Obviously, this is incredible news for people who own houses already, not such great news for people looking to buy a house right now…

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Thinking about Getting a Home Equity Line of Credit? Here Are the Most Important Factors to Consider.

A home equity line of credit, or HELOC, is a revolving line of credit that’s secured by the equity in your home. Think of it as a secured credit card, with your home acting as collateral.

Just like with a credit card, you’ll have a limit. This limit represents the equity in your home. You can tap it as frequently as you want, provided you have the available balance. When you pay down your balance, that amount of money is credited to your HELOC and you can spend it again later.

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Here’s What You Have to Consider Before Taking Out a Home Improvement Loan

Whether you’re looking at a Fannie Mae HomeStyle loan, an FHA 203k, or a good old home equity loan -- borrowing to make home improvements isn’t a decision to take lightly.

For any of these types of loans, the most important question any home buyer can ask is “What sort of house improvement can I buy with this loan?” The reason: it’s all too easy for a buyer to jump into a renovation loan in order to buy an extreme fixer-upper, without realizing that the house may be a total disaster.

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Are Home Equity Loans Tax-Deductible in 2018?

When the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was signed into law, there was an immediate uproar. Some people railed about how it would affect their paychecks, others about their child care credits. Another group was howling about their formerly tax-deductible interest from their home equity loans. We’re here to get to the bottom of this situation and clear up any misinformation you may have heard about deducting home equity loan interest in 2018 and after.

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