Forgotten Your Password?

Need to Register?

Question Icon

For home improvements, is it better to take a loan from a small bank or refinance my mortgage?

30-45 thousand for renovations by ceciliamendez_112 from Austin, Texas. Aug 21st 2013 Reply


William J Acres (William_Acres)
#74 ranked lender in Arizona - 8,728 contributions

too much info missing.. What's your homes value now? how much do you owe? what's the property type? Single family home? Mobile home on land? Condo?.. without knowing the details, it's hard to properly advise you.. In general, I would say that a Home Equity Line of Credit would be best.. with a HELOC, you apply one time and have unlimited use of the funds without having to reapply each time.. This would require that you have sufficient equity in your home in it's current condition. If you do not have sufficient equity, then you would need to do a rehabilitation loan. FHA offers this product as does Fannie Mae.. The only way to know for sure which loan product would be best for your particular scenario is to apply with your local mortgage broker, not the local bank.. brokers have access to numerous different lenders, with varying lending programs.. your local bank has one loan product.. if you don't fit, you don't get a loan.. I'm a Broker here in Scottsdale AZ and I only lend in Arizona. If you or someone you know is looking for financing options, feel free to contact me or pass along my information. 480-287-5714 WilliamAcres.com

Aug 21st 2013
1
0
Brian Striegold (BrianNRL)
#161 ranked lender in Texas - 22 contributions

Small bank typically, please call us to speak further at 281-833-9424. Thanks

Aug 21st 2013
0
0

Cecilia, it depends on your overall scenario. If your current mortgage is a high interest rate, or maybe you'd like to also lower the payment, then refinancing as a cash out might make sense. If not, a Home Improvement Loan at a credit union here in Austin may be best. I know some contacts at a few I could refer you to, but give me a call at (512) 669-5252 and I'll try and help you out.

Aug 21st 2013
0
0
Cody Velkovich (Cody_NEXA)
#162 ranked lender in Texas - 104 contributions

Cecilia, it depends on your overall scenario. If your current mortgage is a high interest rate, or maybe you'd like to also lower the payment, then refinancing as a cash out might make sense. If not, a Home Improvement Loan at a credit union here in Austin may be best. I know some contacts at a few I could refer you to, but give me a call at (512) 669-5252 and I'll try and help you out.

Aug 21st 2013
0
0
Ernesto Marez (Ernesto)
#68 ranked lender in Maryland - 137 contributions

If your lookimg to rehab or upgrade your current home, you need to decide what the cost or upgrades will be, is it cosmetic or are the major upgrades, will it require a licensed contractor or builder etc...there are rehab / construction laons avalable with a 30 yr ,fixed or ARM programs.as well as FHA 203K porgrams. ( requires MI though, and it is high 1.75% upfront and up to 1.35% if you are over 95% LTVthe size of the bank makes no difference, you just a bank with a portfolio that offers a construction loan that will use the appraised value to calcualte the laon amount.Email me if you have more questionsemarez@thefederalsavingsbank.com

Aug 21st 2013
0
0
Barb Lanis (BarbLanis)
#69 ranked lender in Illinois - 679 contributions

It depends on your current mortgage info. It may be best to look at refinancing and taking cash-out to make the renovations. This would depend on your current interest rate and whether you have enough equity to extract some cash for the improvements. You could also look at an FHA 203K Rehab loan. Even a HELOC would require that you currently have sufficient equity in the property.

Aug 21st 2013
0
0
Ken Burrows (mortgagesforamerica)
#19 ranked lender in Nevada - 572 contributions

If you can get a line of credit I would say go for it but those are few and far between now a days. There is always a refinance or an FHA 203(k) rehab loan you can look at. if you need help with anything please let me know. ken@mortgagesforamerica.org

Aug 21st 2013
0
0
Dave Metsker (DaveMetsker)
#35 ranked lender in Oregon - 2,318 contributions

Your chances are better with a refinance.

Aug 21st 2013
0
0
Andrew Alfonso (CashCow)
#43 ranked lender in Florida - 271 contributions

need more information for sure.

Aug 22nd 2013
0
0
Jason Vondrak (jvondrak)
#220 ranked lender in California - 1,741 contributions

A lot of that depends on on your current financial profile - how much equity to you have in your home, credit score, income, etc. By refinancing and taking cash out from the equity in your home, you will likely pay a lower interest rate in comparison to a personal loan. The interest you pay on the mortgage will also be tax deductible.

Aug 22nd 2013
0
0
Subscribe to our news feed.