Paying off mortgage with home equity...
Lynne
mortgage with a home equity loan. The mortgage is down to about
$25,000 with an interest rate of 8.0 or 8.5 (I can't recall which) and
will be paid off in 4/07. Value of the home is about $150,000. I
don't want to extend the term, and a home equity loan seems like an
easy way to reduce the interest rate without paying closing costs.
Would this be a good idea? Would I still be able to deduct interest
on my taxes? Home state is Illinois, if that makes any difference.
John A. Weeks III
<palmspe...@hotmail.com> wrote:
That is an OK idea. 8% is kind of high for a mortgage right now,
and H/E loans are down in the 5% range. You do have the risk that
the H/E loan will adjust upwards, and our government has indicated
that they want to increase interest, so don't expect that 5% to
last forever. With only 3 years left, you probably cannot get
hurt that badly, and you have a chance to save a few bucks.
You might want to spreadsheet out the before and the after. I
think that you will find that this late in the mortgage, you
are paying so much principal each month that the interest is
not all that significant. Make sure that the savings are worth
any costs associated with a H/E loan, and consider the interest
rate risk of the H/E loan.
You likely will not have a problem deducting the H/E loan interest
assuming that your home mortgage is deductable. There are some
details on the mortgage deduction rule, so check with your tax
person or accountant just to make sure.
-john-
--
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John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 jo...@johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
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Jenny
"Lynne" <palmspe...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:ec1d4d3a.04091...@posting.google.com...
but your current payment is mostly principle. You need to compare how much
interest you would save with equity line.
Daniel
> "Lynne" <palmspe...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:ec1d4d3a.04091...@posting.google.com...
> > I need some advice regarding the following idea: paying off my home
> > mortgage with a home equity loan. The mortgage is down to about
> > $25,000 with an interest rate of 8.0 or 8.5 (I can't recall which) and
> > will be paid off in 4/07. Value of the home is about $150,000. I
> > don't want to extend the term, and a home equity loan seems like an
> > easy way to reduce the interest rate without paying closing costs.
> > Would this be a good idea? Would I still be able to deduct interest
> > on my taxes? Home state is Illinois, if that makes any difference.
> >
I personally would refinance with either typical 1st mortgage product,
or equity line for a very short term, simliar to the amount of time
you have left. I would try and find a lender that can offer a true no
fee refinance, even if the rate is a .25 or .5% higher. If the equity
line term is set, then