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    Comparison Shopping for a Home Equity Loan

    Use this worksheet to help you shop for the best deal

    Compare answers to these questions Lender A Lender B Lender C My Current Mortgage
    What are the monthly payments? ___ ___ ___ ___
    What is the Annual Percentage Rate (APR)?
    the cost of credit expressed as a yearly rate; includes the interest rate, points, broker fees, and other credit charges    		 ___ ___ ___ ___
    What is the interest rate?
    the cost of borrowing money expressed as a
    percentage rate         		___ ___ ___ ___
    Will the interest rate change? ___ ___ ___ ___
    When? ___ ___ ___ ___
    How often? ___ ___ ___ ___
    By how much? ___ ___ ___ ___
    What will you have to pay in points? ___ ___ ___ ___
    What will you have to pay in fees? ___ ___ ___ ___
    Application or loan processing fee ___ ___ ___ ___
    Origination or underwriting fee ___ ___ ___ ___
    Lender or funding fee ___ ___ ___ ___
    Appraisal fee ___ ___ ___ ___
    Document preparation and recording fees ___ ___ ___ ___
    Broker fees ___ ___ ___ ___
    Other fees ___ ___ ___ ___
    Are any of the application fees refundable if you don’t get the loan? ___ ___ ___ ___
    How many years will you have to repay the loan? ___ ___ ___ ___
    Is this an installment loan or a line of credit? ___ ___ ___ ___
    Is there a balloon payment? ___ ___ ___ ___
    What are the total closing costs? ___ ___ ___ ___
    If you use a broker, how and how much will he or she be paid? ___ ___ ___ ___
    What is the penalty for late or missed payments? ___ ___ ___ ___
    What is the penalty if you pay off or refinance the loan early? ___ ___ ___ ___
    Does the loan include optional credit insurance?
    You don’t have to accept optional credit insurance to get your loan. If you want optional credit insurance, ask about paying for it monthly instead of financing the premiums as part of your loan.    		 ___ ___ ___ ___
    Can you afford this loan? ___ ___ ___ ___

    Adobe acrobat version of Worksheet for printing (58 KB PDF) 

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