| Irwin to suspend home equity loans
Columbus-based bank holding company Irwin Financial says it lost $22 million, or 77 cents per share in the first quarter of 2008, and the company is refocusing. Irwin leaders today said they have suspended writing home-equity loans, including second mortgages. Irwin Chairman and CEO Will Miller blamed "ongoing unsettled conditions" in the real estate markets. .
Find the Best Deal on Refinancing Your Home
(ARA) - Do you have a balloon mortgage that is coming due or an adjustable rate mortgage payment that has been steadily creeping up as interest rates change? Or perhaps you've had an unexpected financial hit such as a large hospital bill or a job loss that has made your current mortgage payments unreasonable. If so, refinancing your mortgage can be a great way to save money every month.Refinancing your mortgage also lets you consolidate other debt, such as credit card balances, into one low-interest loan. You may also want to consider converting some of the equity in your home to cash to use for large expenses such as college tuition or home improvement.Online services like Bills.com make it easier than ever to find the best deal on refinancing your home. With a couple clicks of the mouse, you'll receive quotes from up to four lenders so you can choose the best deal for your situation.Before you refinance, ask yourself the following questions: .
Investing through a home equity loan
Q. I have recently purchased a home that has a mortgage of $500,000. I got the deposit together from the proceeds of investments with a margin loan. Do you think it is a good move to start up another margin facility, with regular gearing, investing the minimum monthly amounts or should any spare cash go to to housing repayments. My wife and I earn $2,000 net per week. If there were any returns from the investments I would put towards the mortgage.
A. Only you can decide when is the best time to enter the market, but now that you have a home, I strongly suggest investigate borrowing through a home equity loan. The interest rate will be lower and there will be no possibility of margin calls. Obviously to do this you would need to have sufficient equity in your home to qualify for the additional loan.
Report: Home values drop 30 percent
Greater Sacramento's home values have declined 30 percent since the peak of the housing market in fourth-quarter 2005, according to a real estate Web site. And almost 70 percent of families in the four-county region who bought their homes in 2006 have negative equity, one of the highest rates in the nation -- but far from the 90 percent-plus rates in Stockton and Las Vegas, according to Zillow. Almost 55 percent of homeowners who bought last year have negative equity. "Home values in most markets continued to slide in the first quarter, falling back to levels we saw three to four years ago," said Stan Humphries, vice president of data and statistics for Zillow. "While the high rate of negative equity has little consequence to owners staying in their homes, it can be devastating to those who need to sell immediately or refinance to avoid ARM resets." First-quarter home values in the Sacramento region declined 20.5 percent to $289,500, compared to the same three-month period last year -- basically dropping to the median price in fourth-quarter 2004.
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