Home Equity Loans

Home equity loans are loans that are mainly qualified based on the equity in your home. It places a lot less emphasis on your credit condition or your income level. In fact some lenders do not look at credit and income at all. So your bank may turn you down, but if you have enough equity then you can get a home equity loan.

The rate varies mainly by how much you are borrowing relative to the value of your property. Some lender will vary the rate or the amount they will lend based on the location of the property, the type of property, the length of the term and the overall risk of the file. Because the range of circumstances that you can get a home equity loan is so great, so is the range of the rates. Under the best case scenario, the lowest rate is 4.5%. A typical first mortgage up to 75% loan to value is about 7%. A second mortgage starts at around 8%. However under extreme risks, the rate can go up to 16% or higher. For your specific situation, you’ll need to contact me for a quote.

Generally for a home equity loan the borrower needs to pay a lender fee, the legal fee for the lender’s side and the borrower’s side and the cost of the appraisal. Only the appraisal needs to be paid upfront, the rest can be added to the loan.

Typically a home equity loan that is registered as the only loan against the home will have a lender fee of 2% of the loan amount. If the home equity loan is registered behind an existing loan, then the lender fee is about 4%. For very good files, the fee may be adjusted down and for riskier files, it may be adjusted up. The legal fees would be around $2000 to $2,500 but would depend on the lawyers retained and the complexity of the file. 

If the borrowed amount is less than $100,000, then there is a minimum fee of $2000 for a first mortgage and $3000 for a second mortgage. 

If you are uncertain of how long you will need the money, then we will need to look at renewal fees. They vary greatly between lenders, but I will include it in my analysis. What is important is the total cost of the loan, not the fee or the rate alone.

There is no restriction on what you can use the money for but most often it is used to consolidate large debts, help out a family member, invest in a new business and various emergencies. 

It is important to give me the whole story as this is the best way for me to help you. Home equity loans are expensive, so you want to get the right loan the first time around.

There are many lenders out there and I only work with professional reliable lenders that conduct themselves with integrity.

You need to contact me. Either give me a call or send me a note below. The home equity loan market is a large complex heterogenous market place. There are many lenders and they often favour different niches. For example, some give the best rates to single family homes while other might favour large homes, apartments, second mortgages, construction or commercial loans. You need somebody to navigate this for you.

I will take a look at your goals and analysis your complete situation and get you the best offer I can out in the market place.