Guide to Refinance, Mortgage,
& Home Equity Loans in
Lake Charles, Louisiana (LA)

Lake Charles is known as the Festival Capital of Louisiana, with over 75 festivals held annually in the Lake Charles area. The city was settled by Europeans in the late 1700s, and became a major lumber town. Today, the main industry is petrochemicals, but it is also home to three riverboat casinos. One of them, L'Auberge du Lac, offers an 18-hole championship golf course designed by Tom Fazio, several restaurants, a spa and salon, a pool area with its own “river,” and several retail stores. It employs over 2000 area residents.

As part of the city's recovery after Hurricane Rita, elected officials proposed a plan to renovate the downtown area to make it more pedestrian-friendly and aesthetically pleasing. More quality and affordable housing is being developed to help revitalize the area. About 72,000 people call Lake Charles home, and the hurricane’s aftereffects have driven housing prices way down with the average cost of a Lake Charles home currently about 95,000.

When looking at Lake Charles refinance, mortgage and home equity loans, there are a few basic things to know about loan packages:

Traditional mortgages include adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs), which offer an adjusted interest rate at specific points in the life of the loan depending on market rates. Most of them come with periodic or overall caps that make sure the payment or interest rate will never get too high, and they are a good choice for people who will not be in their homes for long or those who just need lower starting payment amounts. Traditional mortgages also include fixed rate mortgages, which keep the exact same interest rate over the life of the loan.

If you are in the market for a mortgage, though, those traditional options are not your only choices. There are a number of non-traditional mortgages, and a lender can talk with you about which of these, or other choices, might fit best with your individual income and credit history.

Interest-Only loans , on which you only pay on the interest for the first ten years, make your payments much lower because you simply will not be approaching the principal for the first decade of the loan. This means the payments are much, much lower than they would be otherwise, but when the life of the loan is up, you will still owe all of the original loan amount, and your payments will increase.

Balloon Loans are great if you are not going to be in your home for very long. They have super low interest rates, and terms of five to seven years.

Options ARM loans are an innovative product that let you pick what your payment amount will be each month. Choose from the minimum payment, an interest-only payment, or an amortized payment. With this sort of loan, you can make a dent in your principal when you have the money, but pay less when times are lean. This is a good choice for borrowers whose income varies from month to month.

Once you have got a good idea of what type of Lake Charles mortgage loan best suits your finance needs, finding a good lender is the next big step. Do a little detective work and start talking to people. You need someone who can offer great rates, low loan costs, and great customer service, as this is an individual you will be dealing with for quite some time. In most cases, you will have to choose from a bank that directly lends the money themselves or a broker who deals with a number of different lending companies to find you the best rate. Both, though, have their advantages and drawbacks. Keep in mind, though, that a good one is willing to discuss the terms of each loan in some amount of detail, and in most cases, they are willing to offer you rates and costs in writing.

Simply fill out the form below and one of our loan experts will contact you to discuss how we can best meet your needs.

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