Sep 14, 2009

Homeowner loans – how to value your home

by: David Lynes - Loans4

If you are a homeowner and are looking to raise finance for one of a wide range of purposes you may find that a homeowner loan offers the perfect solution for your needs, enabling you to enjoy getting the finance that you need as well as enjoying affordability and greater flexibility. A homeowner loan is a loan that is secured against your property, which is why you must be a homeowner to be considered for this type of finance.

There are a number of benefits to opting for a homeowner loan when looking to raise finance. Firstly, you will find that the repayment periods offered are much longer, which means that you can spread the amount that you borrow over a far longer term thus keeping monthly repayments down. Secondly you can get some very competitive rates of interest, so you won’t have to compromise on affordability. Thirdly, secured lenders will often look at those with poor credit as well as those with good credit, so bad credit consumers have a far greater chance of being accepted for a homeowner loan. And finally these homeowner loans offer far greater borrowing power than unsecured loans.

The exact amount that you can borrow in the form of a homeowner loan will depend on a number of factors, and one of the primary factors will be the level of equity that you have in your home. To work out your equity you need to deduct any outstanding mortgage or secured finance from the market value of your property, and the figure that you are left with is your equity level. In order to be accurate about the level of equity that you have in your home you need to make sure that you get an accurate valuable on your home.

House prices at present can change rapidly, and many people were surprised to see that over the last couple of year the value of their homes was way higher than the last time they had them valued, perhaps four or five years ago. Therefore do not base your valuation on a price you may have been given several years ago, and do not attempt to guess. Instead, get no obligation quotes from local estate agents, who will be able to come out and look over the property in order to give you a more accurate idea of the value.

Also, do bear in mind that the valuation may differ from one estate agent to another, even if it is only by a small amount, and therefore it is well worth getting quotes from at least three local estate agents in order to get a more accurate idea of the property value. Once you have obtained the value of the property you will have this information to hand ready for when you make your homeowner loan application.