Norwich is called the Rose of New England for its charm. The city is located at the confluence of three rivers, the Yantic, Shetucket, and Thames. It is beautiful in the fall and in the other seasons as well.
There is a lot to gain by living in Norwich, but one of the most remarkable is the Norwich Free Academy. Founded in 1854 as a private school, NFA is now an unusual combination of public and private education and serves as the primary high school for the area. It serves 2,500 students and received the National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence award in 2001. The school is independent, but overseen by the Connecticut Board of Education. It is both privately endowed and publicly funded. It is a remarkable school, and many people relocate to Norwich to give their children the opportunity to attend this school.
Whether you are moving to Norwich or you are one of the many renters buying a first home, you will be looking for a mortgage lender soon. A mortgage is a loan that is secured by your home. Home purchases, refinances and home equity loans are all financed with mortgages.
Home Purchase Mortgages
When you buy a home, you usually put down a certain amount of money, traditionally 20 percent, and you finance the rest of the home’s cost with a mortgage. The mortgage will have either a fixed interest rate or a variable rate, and it will have a term of 15, 20, 30 or 50 years.
The loan you choose depends on several factors. How much down payment do you have and how much is the principal on the home? How much monthly payment can you afford? Do you plan to pay the home off and live in Norwich for the rest of your life, or are you planning to move again in a few years?
There is a balancing act to choosing the right mortgage. Most of the cost of a mortgage is interest. If you pay a home loan off, you usually end up paying more in interest than in principal. You do not want to pay any more interest than you have to, but you also want to get your Dream Home, and you want affordable payments. The best loan for you will be the one that gives you the best balance between those goals.
Refinance Mortgages
From the standpoint of getting a home loan, refinancing is just like buying a home. You are getting a new mortgage and paying off the old one, and you do it either to save money by getting a better interest rate or to cash out some or all of your equity. Often, you can do both.
When you refinance at a lower interest rate, you can save money by lowering your monthly payment, or you can pay your home off sooner, or sometimes both. If that is your goal, you only borrow enough money to pay off the original loan.
Another reason to refinance, however, is to cash out your equity. You borrow a larger amount of the home’s value, pay off the original mortgage, and use the remaining amount for whatever you want. Sometimes you can cash out your equity and lower your house payments.
Home Equity Loans
A home equity loan is a second mortgage. The purpose is to cash out your equity so that you have money for other things. You do not pay off the original mortgage, though. You have two mortgages and two house payments. Home equity loans almost always have fixed interest rates.
Whether you are buying, refinancing or getting a home equity loan, your first step is to find a lender. You can do that now by filling out the form on this page.
