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Home Equity Loan ? Still A Better Idea Than A 401(k) Loan
Anyone who borrows money is always looking for the cheapest source of funding. That makes sense; no one wants to pay more in interest than is absolutely necessary. And anyone with a sizeable amount of debt, such as credit card debt or a student loan, would be wise to consolidate their debt with a lower interest loan. One source of such a loan is a 401(K) account, which many consumers may have through their employer. Since the interest rate on Federal student loans rose on July 1, many students who missed that deadline may be wondering if consolidating through a 401(K) loan is a good alternative. Is it? In a previous article, we have outlined several reasons why borrowing against a 401(K) account may be less favorable than using a home equity loan instead. The reasons include the fact that the interest on a 401(K) loan is not tax deductible, and that the borrower loses the ability for his or her investment to compound over time. If you have borrowed the money, it can't earn interest and the cost over twenty or thirty years could be dear. In addition to those, there are other reasons why a home equity loan would be a better source of consolidation funds. The 401(K) loan is tempting. There is no credit check, the interest rate is usually favorable, and you are paying the interest back to yourself. The additional disadvantages are considerable, though. The money you borrow from your retirement account was money invested before taxes. The money you pay back is after-tax money, effectively increasing the amount that has to be paid back. Worse, should you lose your job, the 401(K) loan must be paid back immediately, in full. Should this not be possible, the loan is treated as a distribution, requiring the payment of a 10% penalty in addition to state and Federal taxes. With the job market still rather volatile, the additional risk of borrowing against a retirement account is substantial. Borrowing against a tax-deferred retirement fund is rarely a good debt consolidation option. The tax disadvantages, the threat of penalties and immediate repayment and loss of compounding generally make such a loan a bad idea. Those with existing student loans should probably keep them; the interest is tax deductible and the rate is still lower than with most other consumer loans. For most anyone else, a home equity loan would be a better choice, offering deductible interest, fewer risks, and a fixed repayment schedule. Anyone considering a consolidation loan should consider all of these options carefully, as the cost of choosing poorly could be substantial. ©Copyright 2005 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including End-Your-Debt.com, a Website devoted to debt consolidation and credit counseling information and HomeEquityHelp.net, a site devoted to information on mortgages and home equity loans.
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How To Get A Cheap Homeowner Loan If you're looking for a cheap homeowner loan, you might be wondering what you can do to reduce the amount that you have to pay.The simplest answer lies in two things? shopping around to find the lender that offers the lowest interest rates on a cheap homeowner loan, and maximizing the value of your loan against the equity in your home that's being used as collateral.We'll look at each of these items individually, so as to give you a better understanding on how to get the most for your money with a cheap homeowner loan.Shopping around for a lenderA variety of cheap homeowner loan options exist for individuals regardless of their credit rating, so long as they have sufficient home equity.The main difference that a homeowner will encounter when looking for a cheap homeowner loan comes f...
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How To Get Your Home Mortgage Loan If you are thinking of purchasing a new home soon you will need to know how to qualify for a new home mortgage. If you have a good credit history you will find it much easier to get approved for your home loan. If you do not have a good credit report you will have to take some time to build up your credit so that you will be able to get approved for a home mortgage loan in the future.Good credit is based on your showin... |  |
| Tips For First Time Home Buyers When looking at tips for first time home buyers, you've come to the right place. Many people are looking all over the Internet for reliable information. There's over 761,940 websites (as of March 05) with information or online forms urging you to fill them out for more details.While I certainly agree the Internet is a great place for obtaining tips for first time home buyers, it can also become a real information overload as well. So I want to give you some tips that can help in your search.Tips for First Time Home Buy... |  |
| Flexible Mortgage Guide Here is a useful flexible mortgage guide. Flexible mortgages are loans which allow you to increase or decrease the size of your repayments within certain limits. This type of mortgage is relatively new.Flexible mortgages come in all shapes and sizes. The most basic flexible mortgage runs along similar lines to a standard mortgage but with a few extra facilities such as the calculation of daily interest, the ability to make underpayments, overpayments and payment holidays.The interest rate can be discounted, fixed, capped or variable, but has the big advantage that it is calculated daily or monthly instead of annually. This means that any capital repayment of the loan will affect the interest charged on the outstanding balance immediately. By makin... |  |
| Guide To Home Equity Loans Here is a useful guide to home equity loans. A home equity loan is quite simply a loan against your house. Another term for a home equity loan is a mortgage or second mortgage. Home equity loans are also known as equity release schemes.You are borrowing on what your house is worth. If your house is paid off, the term is "mortgage" and if your house is not paid off but has equity, the term is called a "second mortgage". For ease of understanding however, this article will refer to these loans as Home Equity Loans.A home equity loan is a second loan that you take out on your home in addition to your mortgage. This is also called a second mortgage. This enables you to tap into your equity to get cash without refinancing your first mortgage. Many people think that the only way to access this cash i... |  |
| Refinancing Your Home Mortgage Loan You're considering refinancing your home mortgage loan to save money. Interest rates are the lowest they have been in decades. But, you're asking yourself, "Is refinancing worth my time and effort. Can I really save thousands of dollars on my home mortgage loan?" The answer is yes. There has never been a better time to refinance your home mortgage.Before you find a lender to refinance your current mortgage, there are a few key factors to know. It's a good idea to decide how long you're going to stay in your home, your current interest rate, credit rating and the value of your home. These are all very important things to consider before you refinance your home.Refinancing your home is a great... |  |
| What Are Mortgage Brokers And Why To Use One "Mortgage" is formed from two words: the French word "mort" meaning "dead" and the word "gage" from Old English meaning "pledge". Sir Edward Coke (who lived from 1552 to 1634) explained the term: the land as considered "dead" to the mortgagor, as if the person never had it.Today, the term mortgage is used for a loan for purchasing propriety. The most common mortgages are the home mortgages. It is not common to pay cash a home today. The "life' of a home mortgage is from 20 to 30 years. During all this years, the owner will pay regularly and with the specified amount. There is also a term for the interest rate, established to respect the seller and also the buyer co... |  |
| Bad Credit Home Loans There was a time that seems like decades ago when people with less than pristine credit were not able to get home loans. At that time people with bad credit were all but assured that their dreams of homeownership would never come to fruition. Luckily, for many people, those days are long gone.Homeownership is possible for people with bad credit and no credit history at all thanks in large part to a multitude of loan packages made available by countless lenders. Good people with bad credit can now get approved for mortgages and despite what you may have heard from a well intended but misinformed friend or family members, these loans c... |  |
| Applying For A Home Loan Applying for a home loan may not be the most exciting way to spend your time, but if you are like many potential homeowners, it is probably a necessary evil. If you have some knowledge of the process ahead of time, however, it will go much more smoothly.Home loan applications tend to be very long, but if you are prepared ahead of time you can finish the application procedure without breaking a sweat. Before you begin filling out the form, make sure you have available your Social Security number, information pertaining to previous employers and residences, recent pay stubs, copies of credit card and loan statements, copies of bank statements and asset information such as stocks, pension and retirement funds. Begin the form by simply filling out each line with the reque... |  |
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