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Getting a Home Improvement Loan: What Your Bank Needs


The popularity of stores like Home Depot and Lowe's show how many homeowners are jumping on the home improvement bandwagon. Maybe you're thinking of redoing part of your house as well. Perhaps you want the kitchen of your dreams or an extra bathroom. You know you'll have to take out a loan to finance the project, but if you're just in the beginning stages of the planning, you may not know exactly how to go about it. Whether you're refinancing or taking out a home-equity loan, here's some information on what your bank needs:

As with any loan, your bank will want to review your financial history before approving you for a home-equity loan. While different banks will have different loan criteria, there are a few things you can expect each institution to require:

-Your address and how long you've lived there
-Your employment history and current employer
-Your annual income and assets
-Your total debt and monthly obligations

For home-equity loans, the bank will also need information on your house such as its age and current property value. Save time by bringing the current tax assessment for your property with you. For smaller loans (usually $2000 or less), this may be enough information to indicate the home's market value to the bank's satisfaction. However, for larger loans, banks will require professional appraisals. Home appraisals typically cost $200-$300.

Above, I mentioned that banks want to know your total debt and monthly obligations. Specifically, they want to know your debt-to-income ratio. If your debt is greater than 30%-40% of your monthly income, the bank may be unwilling to offer a loan out of fear that you will not be able to make payments.

To further protect their assets, the bank will require a copy of your credit history to make sure you're not a bad risk. A few months before you decide to take out a home-equity loan, it's a good idea to get a copy of your credit report and check it for errors. Contact the credit bureau and correct any errors ahead of time. This will save time later and help you get the right loan for your home improvement needs.

TC Thorn writes for http://www.luxuryhousingtrends.com

This article may be reprinted so long as a link back to the site is included.


MORE RESOURCES:

Housing Wire

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MonitorBankRates.com

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Fox News

Obama Proposes Mortgage-Refinance Plan
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By NICK TIMIRAOS President Barack Obama called on Congress during Tuesday's State of the Union address to approve new legislation that would give all homeowners who are current on their mortgages the opportunity to refinance at record low mortgage ...
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International Business Times

FOX 11 News Discussion: State of the Union
MyFox Los Angeles
And he aimed a pitch at homeowners, announcing a new mortgage refinance program with "historically low interest rates" that "gives every responsible homeowner the chance to save about $3000 a year on their mortgage." He added, "A small fee on the ...
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CBS Local

Six Questions on Obama's Mortgage Refinance Proposal
Wall Street Journal (blog)
By Nick Timiraos President Barack Obama said Tuesday night in his State of the Union address that he would send a plan to Congress to allow all homeowners who are current on their mortgages to refinance. Here's a quick look at the proposal: How is this ...
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KOMO News

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If you buy apparel from "big and tall" clothing stores, you're used to paying more and having less to choose from. "Regular guys," on the other hand, benefit from a wider selection of products and more competition between retailers.
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AgedLeadStore.com to Add 1100000 Aged Mortgage Refinance Leads
Middle East North Africa Financial Network
COM, January 26, 2012 ) Baltimore, MD AgedLeadStore.com is increasing its value for its customers by adding 1.1 million aged Mortgage Refinance Leads in February. This is important as many people depend upon their ability to refinance to make progress ...



High Volume Stock Movers: Bank of America, Sprint, Cisco, Annaly, Sirius Feb. 8th
Wall St. Cheat Sheet
By Derek Hoffman Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC): The US's Home Affordable Refinance Program has increased mortgage refinance applications and strained capacity at Bank of America, leading the bank to ask some customers to wait 60 to 90 days, ...



New HARP Could Help Up to 6.7 Million
NASDAQ
Other changes to the program were designed to make it easier for homeowners with private mortgage insurance (PMI) to refinance or to obtain a HARP mortgage refinance with a lender other than their current mortgage servicer. In addition, new limits were ...

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Boehner On Refi Plan: Bad Idea, Obama!
Mortgageorb
by MortgageOrb.com on Thursday 02 February 2012 Any hope for bipartisan support of President Obama's mortgage refinance proposal was squashed by House Speaker John Boehner, who dismissed the new initiative as a continuation of failed policies.

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