Many People Use The Terms Mortgage Refinance And Home Equity Loan Interchangeably, But The Two Are Not The Same Thing. Before You Consider One Or The Other, Be Sure You Know What Your Lender Is Referring To.The Reason The Two Terms Are Often Confused Has To Do With The Fact That Youll Typically Be Refinancing Your Existing Mortgage When You Have Some Equity Established In Your Home. Equity Is Simply The Difference Between The Market Value Of Your Home And The Amount You Owe Against It. To Put It Into Dollars, A Person Who Owns A Home That Has A Market Value Of 100,000 And A Mortgage On That Home Of 60,000 Has 40,000 In Equity. Thats Not To Say That All Lenders Are Willing To Loan You An Additional 40,000. In Fact, Many Lenders Have Caps On The Amount Theyll Loan. It Might Be That A Particular Lender Will Only Loan Up To 90 Percent Of The Market Value Of The Home. In That Case, The Loan Value Of The Home Would Only Be 90,000. Though The Amount Of Equity Technically Remains The Same, The Amount Of Loan Available Depends On The Lenders Guidelines.If You Have 40,000 In Equity In Your Home, You May Want To Cash In On At Least Some Of That Money. But How Do You Go About Getting It? The Two Main Options Are To Take Out A Mortgage Refinance Loan Or A Home Equity Loan. A Mortgage Refinance Is Exactly What The Name Implies Your Original Mortgage Will Be Figured Into A New Loan, Giving You A Mortgage Refinance Loan. But A Home Equity Loan Leaves The Existing Loan As It Stands. Youll Have A Second Payment On Top Of The Original Mortgage.So Which Is Better? It Actually Depends On Several Factors. Did You Get Great Terms And Rates When You Financed The Original Loan? If So, You May Want To Consider A Home Equity Loan So That You Keep Those Great Rates And Terms On Your Original Mortgage. Can You Afford To Make The Double Payments Required? Remember, If You Take Out A Home Equity Loan Youll Still Be Making The Original Mortgage Payments And Your Home Equity Loan Will Be Tacked On Top Of That. Some People Find That The Budget Simply Wont Stretch To Make Those Necessary Payments. Theres Plenty To Consider Before You Decide Whether Its Time For A Mortgage Refinance Or You Should Take Out A Home Equity Loan.
