If the idea of living on beautiful Long Island and having some of the best golf courses and the nicest real estate at your front door is your dream, then you should check out Hicksville, NY. Don’t let the name deceive you; Hicksville is a wonderful community of just over 40,000 people that truly offers the best of both worlds. Downtown Manhattan is a short drive away, but so are the quiet beaches of Long Island. If you’ve always wanted a place that is both the city and the quiet life wrapped in one, check out Hicksville. But if you are thinking about moving to Hicksville, you are going to need some advice on getting the best mortgage you can. If you already call Hicksville home, now is a great time to refinance or get a home equity loan. Here are a few helpful tips to make the transition easier.
Mortgages
When it comes to picking the right mortgage, you will have to decide if you want a fixed interest rate on your mortgage or if you want a variable rate. Most folks don’t realize that they have a choice in this matter. They simply take whatever their lender offers them and they don’t think about making a counter-offer. A bank loan is just like any other business transaction. You do have input and if you know what to look for, you can get a much better deal for you and your family. So, which choice is the best? It depends on trends and history. Before you apply for a home loan, do some research on the current state of interest rates. Depending on what offer you get from your lenders, you will want to choose a fixed rate if your interest rate offer is low and a variable rate if you didn’t get the rates you hoped for. Rates can always go down, and if you get a variable rate, your interest rate, and your monthly payments, can go down after your initial holding period.
Refinancing
You will be faced with the same decision when you refinance. Doing the research to figure out the trends in interest rates may seem daunting, especially if you aren’t a financial expert, but there are sites on the Internet and even graphs in publications like the Wall Street Journal that track interest rates over the past year, past five years and even the past ten years. If it looks like rates are dropping, get that variable rate for your refinance. If rates are rising, but still pretty low, lock it in with a fixed rate refinance. The decision you make now can save you bundles down the road. The old saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure certainly applies here!
Home Equity Loans
One of the nice things about a home equity loan is that you don’t have to worry about variable or fixed rates. When you get a home equity loan, the rates will always be fixed, no matter what. This is yet another reason why getting a home equity loan is a great idea. With rates still low when taken into a historical context, you can lock in a wonderful rate right now by applying for a home equity loan.
If you would like more information on getting a first mortgage, refinancing or home equity loans, please fill out our short form below and one of our experts will contact you shortly.
