Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with loans and home

How to get money to improve home

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 08:02:43 -0800

What are my options for borrowing money for home improvement? My wife and I need to build a new garage and want to add a bathroom to our house. Total expected expense of approximately $60-70k.

We both have excellent credit. We would exceed any credit requirements. I make a good bit of money. We just don't have $70k in a bank somewhere. We have $100k in equity in our house, which is valued at approximately $400k. We have just one mortgage that was refi-ed 4 months ago. Based on neighborhood, we will likely get the money from this project back out (but this isn't our motivation for doing it; I'm just saying that is not a factor).

Well, my wife went and asked Bank of America about it, and her recitation of the conversation boiled down to that there was no way we could get the money right now. She said the banks are not giving out loans for this kind of thing.

That blows my mind. I'm an absolute sure thing. With my income, I could change nothing about my living and pay $1-2k a month that would easily pay off a $70k loan. Why wouldn't someone lend me the money?

So, what are my options to get $70k to fix my house? Or am I not going to be able to get a HELOC or 2nd mortgage or whatever in this economy? If I am working with an architect and a general contractor, are there ways to set up financing like you would with a car if those two don't offer it themselves?

I'd like to know what my options are for borrowing that kind of money; who would be good sources of this; and what types of things can I say or do to convince a lender that there is virtually no risk in lending me money? I'd also like to get a general sense of how the amount factors in to the decision [The garage ($30) has to be done. The bathroom is just a desire].

Various other demographics which might be relevant: live in affluent and stable neighborhood in DFW area of Texas, married, no kids, dual incomes (one substantial, one good), perfectly clean credit, willing to pay premiums to get it done.

I set up a dummy account for any question or leads: moneyborrowquestion@gmail.com

Thank you.

Can you have two mortgages on the same apartment?

mjao — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 20:14:20 -0800

Can I go halves in an apartment with my brother? i.e., can we each have separate loans for the same apartment? No one I've asked seems to know. We are in Queensland, Australia. He would be paying his share off a lot more quickly than I would be able to pay my share. The plan then is that he would continue living in the apartment with me (or rent out his room) and buy a second house elsewhere.

I know this probably seems like a really simple question, but I know absolutely nothing about home loans :)

I just want somewhere to live, honestly.

Jimbob — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 23:15:26 -0800

Am I about to get screwed over in regards to the house I'm buying, that's currently being renovated? The story:
Moving to a new city (Hobart, Australia) for a job in about 7 weeks.
We went there in January to look at houses, found one that was far superior to others, but that was currently having some minor renovations done; new carpets, some rendering on the external walls. We made an offer subject to finance being approved.
Applied for a loan through a mortgage broker. Mortgage broker was incompetent, loan was denied.
Applied for a loan through someone else, loan got conditional approval.
Mortgage lenders sent a valuer to the house, discovered that the renovations to be complete were not clearly stated in the contract, and they couldn't loan me the amount I was asking for the property.
My solicitor gets an extension to the date for finance approval, obtains an undertaking that the renovations will be complete.
Today arrives. The day finance is supposed to be approved by. Mortgage lender rings me and tells me the finance now won't be approved until the renovations have actually been completed to a satisfactory standard, "for my protection".
So, we're now past the close of business on the day that finance was supposed to be approved by, and my vendors are going to be told that they have to have the renovations complete before my loan is approved. Except they haven't been told that yet, because everyone seems to be missing everyone else's phone calls.

Question: Am I about to be fucked over? It seems the risks in this situation lie completely with me. The vendors could pull out of the deal tomorrow. Or, the vendors could do the renovations, the bank could say they're not good enough and I don't get the house, but the vendors just go on and try to sell it to someone else.

I know this is probably a bit of a hazy question, with too many personal factors involved, but has anyone else had experience in situations like this? Are vendors likely to pull out of a deal because we keep asking for finance extensions? Or does the fact that we've been going about this for so long mean they're likely to stick with it? Is the bank leading me on? Does this sort of thing, demanding renovations are complete before approving the loan, happen often?

help my mom refinance her home?

robotdog — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:14:23 -0800

Assuming that the feds are indeed going to cut rates significantly at the end of this month, should my mom wait until after that to refinance her home mortgage? My mom is about to refinance her home loan -- but with all the talk of the feds cutting rates, it made me wonder if she should wait?

If the feds cut rate, will it affect the offered rate on her loan? Is there a delay between these two numbers? Or can she walk in the next day after the prime is cut and get a different rate?

Also, she is sure she is selling the house within 2 years (this refinancing is designed entirely to get her a lower monthly mortgage for those two years)... should she worry about loans other than 30-year fixed? Or are they full of hidden problems and complications?

Backgrond info: she has above average credit (but not amazing... just low-good), her loan is currently around $30k, and the latest valuation of the house is around $700k, her current interest rate is roughly 9%

Stated Income Home Loans

Instrumental — Tue, 29 Mar 2005 10:31:05 -0800

My wife and I are applying for a home loan. I recently started my own business while she has a normal job. Should we choose a "Stated Income" or a "No Income Verification" loan? Our loan broker suggests using a Stated Income loan by adding our two real incomes together and saying it is her wages. This seems like lying to us....what do you think? A No Income Verification loan is $10,000 more....