Home to nearly sixty thousand people, Lafayette, Indiana is a great place to call home. With great primary schools and colleges, as well as a diverse economy and some of the best community events and activities in the country, it is time for you to call Lafayette your home.
The first step is getting a great mortgage to meet your home ownership needs. As you begin to look for homes that might work for you, you may want to stop and talk with a lender before you ever make an offer. A lender can pre-approve you for a mortgage loan, which will not only help you to understand exactly how much money you have available to spend on a home, it may also help you to win the bidding war on the home you want. This is a great signal to real estate agents and sellers that you are serious about making a home purchase. Pre-approval just takes a few minutes, and it will give you a budget range for the homes you are looking at, but it will also help to educate you about the different kinds of loans available. For example, if you are just getting started in your career field, but you expect to be making considerably more in the next ten years, perhaps an interest only loan is right for you. With this type of loan, you will pay only the interest on the principal for the first decade, which could give you quite a bit of room in the monthly payments. If you just want to get the home paid off as quickly as possible, maybe a bi-weekly mortgage is right for you. This type of loan comes with twice the number of required payments of the average thirty year loan, but it also saves thousands of dollars in interest.
If you already call Lafayette your home, it is time to consider refinancing your current mortgage. There are lots of reasons people choose to refinance, but the two most common reasons are to get a different rate or term on their mortgage or to cash out the equity they have built up in their homes. Refinancing your home essentially means replacing your first mortgage with a new one, so you will not only look at the interest rates available, but also have a chance to examine the other kinds of loans that are now available. If you went with an interest only loan the first time around, maybe you are ready to refinance to a thirty year fixed rate mortgage to keep the payments from changing too much. If you have a fixed mortgage, maybe you would prefer to refinance to an adjustable rate loan to save money on interest payments each month. Look carefully at the interest rates with each product and your financial needs. You want something that will fit your monthly budget in the years to come, so choose wisely.
One great option that many people choose to take advantage of during the refinance process is cashing out the equity they have built up in their homes. Equity is the difference between what your home is worth on the open market (according to an appraisal) and the balance of your mortgage. During refinancing, many lenders will offer you up to one hundred and ten percent of the value of your home, which could mean a large check at the end of the process. Use the money on whatever you like because it is money that you have earned.
If you like the idea of cashing out your equity to meet unexpected financial needs, but you are not sure about the idea of refinancing your house, maybe you should consider a Lafayette home equity loan. This type of loan works in addition to your mortgage. It is sometimes called a second mortgage. As with the cash-out refinancing process, you are free to use the money on whatever you like.
If you are ready to get started, take a moment to fill out the form below. A lender will contact you right away to discuss your individual financial needs.
