Island Ed? Or, anyone with knowl. re Home Equity Loans?

Hi Onika.

Bryce McLaughlin once told me that home equity products are not available here. I know you have Flagstar and we did as well until the first of this month when our loan was bought by Citicorp. Citicorp offers equity lines and loans and gives preferred rates to its home loan customers but when I checked with them last week they claimed that they can't offer equity products in the USVI, supposedly because the laws here don't favor the lender. I asked for a more detailed explanation but nobody really knew. We set aside some money that we would put toward our principal if equity products were available to us here. If you find anything please let me know.

The one way you can pull out some equity is to refinance. There are a finite number of lenders/mortgage brokers who underwrite loans in the USVI. Some of the better loan rates come from the brokers in Florida who are licensed here. Or you might get lucky with one of the local banks if they are running a special one month. I know that Scotia Bank recently had a promotion where they would pay $2K towards closing costs on new loans, so check around and you might find something that will work for you. If you need contact info for off-island brokers, send me a PM and I can fill you in on some options I've come across.

I continue to learn. So I guess there is no way to get use of equity. Any body know why this might be different than in the states. Here in California they give out home equity lines like water. Between my home and rental condo, banks have given me about 350M. Nice to have.

Wonder why???

promoguy: I hate to say this, but this isn't the States! 😉

Wow, that is really disappointing news!

Refinancing will probably not be an attractive option since the rates have so significantly changed since we took out our first mortgage. I am willing to pay a higher rate for a small tap into my equity, but not for the outstanding principal plus additional cash back.

Bummer. I guess we are not getting our remodeled kitchen after all. Sigh, I was already designing the gas cooktop island and the built-in wall oven...

Alexandra, I have PM'd you for info

Dnt: My loan is now with with Chase and they too do not offer home equity products here. After I chat with Alexandra, I will post back if I learn anything new from her off-island brokers.

there must be a reason or more than one.

I guess I'm just thinking out loud. Maybe it's hurricanes and the fear that folks will walk away. But why wouldn't that happen in FLA or LA.

Tapping equity as Onika wants to do for a new kitchen is what it's about.

What Alexandra suggests isn't the answer in a market where interest rates have gone up over the years.

Just curious.

That's all folks

Insurance and banking are regulated through the Lt Governor's office. Our most recent Lt Governor (the last 8 years) was a shop steward for the AFT for 14 years. Other experience was Youth Affairs coordinator and VI legislator. He has a high school diploma and has attended college classes.

I know at least one candidate for gov/lt. gov. plans to take insurance and banking out of the lt. gov's office, should they win the general election..."leave it to the professionals," they say. Good idea!

diploma guys have a hard time with fractions so I guess that since refi's deal with percentages that it's definitely not gonna happen while he's in office

Hi promoguy.

"Between my home and rental condo, banks have given me about 350M. "

As you know, this is not a crime -free territory and you once posted a photograph of yourself in a hammock. If the above statement is accurate, I would not advertise it because a tourist to whom banks happily loan three hundred and fifty million dollars would be a powerful temptation to some morally challenged locals.

Damn Dnt, I miswrote....should have been 350K. Guess I'm less of a target now. Was only doing the M part to try and impress a VI honey like East Ender.

If they come and look for me in California, I've got some nice heat.

If it's in the VI's, I'll hire the guys that beat people with shovels as body guards.

They'll be disappointed, since I carry very little cash and mostly credit cards. I hang with Ronnie a bit, so 'nuf said on that account. You never mess with someone with a new truck.

I checked with First Bank yesterday and Patricia McCoy told me they do equity loans - just not lines of credit. She also said the equity loan interest rate is 8.5% right now so it may be better to refi and get the lower interest rate. Let me know if you want her phone number.

The re-fi rate out of Florida for the USVI has been running 6-3/4% to 6-7/8%. It hasn't changed significantly in the past year and a half at least. The USVI local bank rate is typically about 1% higher than that. I don't know what your original loan rate was, but I haven't come across many in the USVI that are much below 7%.

Hmm, I spoke with First Bank VI yesterday and was told they do NOT offer home equity loans. They do offer re-fi, but I am not going to do that where my orig. mortgage rate is under 6%.

Anyway, I think I have found a way around this issue...

Thanks all for your help and advice!

Onika,
If First Bank has an equity loan, go check it out. (Patricia McCoy is the only one there I would deal with). You'll need to find the term and CLTV and costs, but the longer term for the amount you need and the blended rate may make it very attractive for a kitchen remodel. PM me if you have any questions.

Alexandra, today's par rate from Flagstar is 6.000% on a 30 yr fixed - 6.875% is paying 103.079 before adjustments.

Ed - the 6-3/4% example was on average over the past year or so. Of course it fluctuates. And buyers have different credit scores and qualify for different options. Some choose to pay points and others take a higher rate and no points. There are always variables. Different brokers also charge different fees. It is still true that most loans that close with underwriting from the Florida mortgage reps I know are about 1% lower than the ones that close through on-island banks, and usually with lower total cost outlay to the buyer at closing.

As Florida was mentioned, I thought I would add in the experience of my parents. They live in Sarasota, and due to the storm activity over the past few years, their insurance company dropped their county, and even though they own their home outright, they cannot get any sort of an equity loan. They would have to take out a mortgage on the house they already own.

I know. It doesn't make a great deal of sense, but I guess in the numbers crunching business it does. Alexandra: I understood exactly what you meant and mean. It is much like any investment. At Merryl Lynch, they can only give you a quote for the day, but it may be slightly different when the deposit actually hits. They tend, as such, to provide averages for the past three and then the past six months.

I'm glad you clarified that,

Warmly,

Dan

Alexandra, you are as always correct (compliment). I posted the pricing for 6.875% before adjustments to show how much a broker has to work with to cover them, and all adjust ments are variable as you mentioned. In this case over 3 points are available for any adjustments before charging additional fees. If the broker can't beat the local banks, then you may be being charged too much, as the local banks are not usually competitive to the stateside pricing for FNMA 30 year products. Of course, this assumes a good credit and fully documented loan application. It is not unreasonable for the rate to be in the area you mentioned after adjustments
Cheers,