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Local lenders can help finance a new
home building project, or can help people
wishing to remodel tap into the equity already in their home.
“
Give your lender a call ahead of time,
and get pre-qualified,” Glynis Laub, mortgage loan officer
at High Country Bank, said. “Make sure you have everything
in order before you start.”
Loan seekers must fill out a “dreaded packet” of
application information to provide lenders with adequate information
to consider
a loan.
Laub said the turn-around time from application
submittal to loan approval is usually, at most, 30 days.
Mark Ray, commercial lender for Pueblo
Bank and Trust, said he can get approval for a construction loan
in one to two weeks.
For a new home project, officials for
both banks take specifications and cost estimates from the contractor
and appraise the project as if the home was already completed.
“
We can loan up to 75 percent of that
value, in a 12-month interest-only loan,” Laub said.
An interest-only loan means the borrower
pays monthly interest only on what has been borrowed to date, not
the entire loan amount.
“
After completion and receipt of a Certificate
of Occupancy, we convert the loan to a more traditional type of
financing, like a 15- or 30-year fixed mortgage,” she said.
Pueblo Bank and Trust will loan “up to 80 percent” of
the appraised value.
For those wishing to remodel or expand
an existing dwelling, homeowners can often tap into the equity already
in the home or apply for a home-equity line of credit.
“
Depending on the equity already in the
home, hopefully there is enough equity to cash out,” Laub
said. “We can loan up to 80 percent of the appraised value.”
For example, a home appraised at $200,000
would be eligible for for a loan of $160,000.
If the mortgage on the home is $100,000, the remaining amount — $60,000 — would
be available for an equity loan.
A home equity line of credit works like
a credit card, Ray said. A borrower pays only on the amount that
has been borrowed, instead of paying on the entire loan amount as
with a traditional equity loan.
No matter the project, Ray said the application
process is essential in obtaining a loan.
“
You’ve got to have good credit, and the ability to make the
payments, ” he
said. |
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