ActionRefinance presents The Porchlight Detail
Got mortgage insurance, or debt that costs more than it should? Your home may hold the power to change that. You lead. Erik and Albert lay out every route, including leaving things as they are.
Your home is the collateral for any loan that uses its equity. What's possible depends on your credit, income, an appraisal and the lender.
A model house on a blueprint at dusk, with string running from four pinned cards to a glowing core inside it.
Your letter has a personal page with your home's automated value estimate and a power meter you fill in with your own numbers.
Codes are 8 letters and numbers. Lost the letter? Call Erik at (623) 696-8683 and he'll walk you through it by phone.
Act 1
Four missions come up again and again. Pick the one that sounds like you.
Any mission that uses equity makes your home the collateral for that money. Whether it fits depends on your credit, income, an appraisal and the lender.
FHA mortgage insurance often lasts the life of the loan. If your home has gained value, you may have enough equity to look at a loan without it, or the numbers may say stay put.
Refinancing replaces your current rate. Closing costs apply, and an appraisal sets the value.
Credit cards and car loans can cost more each month than mortgage debt. Some of your equity may be able to pay them down.
Your home becomes the collateral for that debt. A longer term can mean more total interest, and closing costs apply.
A roof, a kitchen, a pool, a casita for family. Equity can pay for work that adds to the home it comes from.
Your home is the collateral for any loan that pays for it. Closing costs or fees may apply.
A line of credit you can draw on if something comes up, and leave alone if nothing does.
A line like this is usually a HELOC: a variable rate, a draw period and then a repayment period, and the payment can rise. Your home is the collateral.
Not sure which one? That's a fine place to start. Tell Erik you're not sure yet.
Act 2
Equity is the part of your home you own outright: what it's worth, minus what you owe. Lenders often let you put part of it to work, commonly up to about 80% of the home's value across all loans, and sometimes up to 85% with a HELOC.
Example only: a $400,000 home with $250,000 owed.
Usable up to 80%
$70,000
Often with a HELOC, up to 85%
$90,000
An illustration, not your numbers or an offer. Real limits depend on the lender, your credit, income and an appraisal. Your home is the collateral. A cash-out refinance has closing costs, and a longer term can mean more total interest.
Have a letter? Your personal page runs this with your own balance. Enter your code.
Act 3
If you like the rate you have, a HELOC sits behind it as a separate line of credit. Your first mortgage, its rate and its payment stay exactly as they are.
HELOCs usually have a variable rate, so the payment can rise. A draw period comes first, then a repayment period when payments are often higher. Your home is the collateral.
Act 4
Erik maps every route side by side. Albert builds the structure under whichever one you pick. You make the call, and "not right now" is a perfectly good call.
The LeadYou
Picks the mission. Makes every call. Nothing moves without the Lead.
The NavigatorErik Miller
Mortgage Expert, NMLS #263103, AZ LO-0927960. Maps every route side by side, including staying put.
The EngineerAlbert Luc
NMLS #1474341, AZ LO-948147. Builds the structure under the plan once you pick a route.
A ten-minute call gets you real numbers for each option, next to leaving things alone.
(623) 696-8683Everything here is education and options to talk through. It's not an offer or an approval, and nothing happens unless you say so.