HELOCs in Massachusetts

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Jagger
Posts: 68
Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2020 10:05 am

HELOCs in Massachusetts

Post by Jagger »

Hello, all. DW and I are considering securing a home equity credit line for some home renovations. We live in eastern Massachusetts. What lenders offer the most competitive and flexible terms? Have you found any that are online-only, similar to LenderFi and Better.com? Any recent HELOC experiences - positive or negative - would be appreciated. Thanks.
Contango1025
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Re: HELOCs in Massachusetts

Post by Contango1025 »

Third federal has a prime minus 25bps for balances under $50k and prime minus 101bps for the portion of your balance over $50k. I debated switching from my interest only with Alliant which is prime plus 25bps but not sure it's worth the hassle as I'd likely pay off a sub $50k balance over a year or two. I'm sure there are others but these are two I've seen recommended before. I've been happy with Alliant.
jharkin
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Location: Boston suburbs

Re: HELOCs in Massachusetts

Post by jharkin »

Third Federal. I’m on my third HELOC with them, currently waiting for a closing date. Very easy to work with, everything online/do using until closing then they send an attorney to your house.

Rates as mentioned above, prime-1 rate is 2.99% on 50-200k balances.
bluebolt
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Re: HELOCs in Massachusetts

Post by bluebolt »

I don't know if they are still competitive, but we had a HELOC with Webster Bank that was prime minus 1-2% (don't recall exactly) for an intro period. Looks like they are doing prime - 0.76% (3.24% APR) for an intro period now.
moshe
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Re: HELOCs in Massachusetts

Post by moshe »

Eastern Bank attractive terms, good service- very easy to lock in parts of the balance at fixed rates so you can have the best of both worlds.

~Moshe
My money has no emotions. ~Moshe | | I'm the world's greatest expert on my own opinion. ~Bruce Williams
Topic Author
Jagger
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Re: HELOCs in Massachusetts

Post by Jagger »

Thanks to all. I hadn't thought about Third Federal S&L.
Topic Author
Jagger
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Re: HELOCs in Massachusetts

Post by Jagger »

Followup question for Third Federal HELOC clients: On the website, they state that borrowers are responsible for "doc stamps, intangible tax, transfer tax, recording tax and mortgage tax." In your experience, how much did these costs add up to? Many thanks.
w5000
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Re: HELOCs in Massachusetts

Post by w5000 »

I happened to have spoken with Leader Bank yesterday. They are currently offering the following:
Your HELOC rate based on 75% loan to value will be fixed at 2.99%, or for 80% loan to value, 3.49% for the first 6 months, then equal to the Prime rate (currently 4%) for the remaining life of the loan. The floor (minimum) rate once adjustment has occurred will be 4%. Leader Bank HELOCs have a 25-year term and structured with a 10-year, interest-only draw period, followed by a 15-year principal and interest payment.
What surprised me about their HELOC is that there are no fees to the borrower. (I assumed that I'd have to pay for an appraisal.) There are some conditions to that -- you have to borrow $25K at closing and keep that balance for 90 days. And there's also a fee for early termination of the line of credit (< 24 months).
moshe
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Re: HELOCs in Massachusetts

Post by moshe »

Also, don't recall any fees with Eastern when we opened our HELOC other than a minimum draw required at the time of closing. It was seamless. Other than the anemic MM interest rate i have been happy with their service over the years.

~Moshe
My money has no emotions. ~Moshe | | I'm the world's greatest expert on my own opinion. ~Bruce Williams
jharkin
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Re: HELOCs in Massachusetts

Post by jharkin »

Jagger wrote: Sat May 14, 2022 8:59 am Followup question for Third Federal HELOC clients: On the website, they state that borrowers are responsible for "doc stamps, intangible tax, transfer tax, recording tax and mortgage tax." In your experience, how much did these costs add up to? Many thanks.
I don’t recall that I paid any fees to close on mine in MA…. Or if I did it was such a small amount I just wrote a personal check at the closing table and forgot.

I don’t think many of those other than the recording fee even apply here - for example, transfer tax is only paid on transfer of title in MA (by the seller).

No minimum draw either.
exarkun
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Re: HELOCs in Massachusetts

Post by exarkun »

Interesting related paper here:. https://www.nber.org/papers/w30041
nanotube
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Re: HELOCs in Massachusetts

Post by nanotube »

Mass Bay Credit Union offers one of the best rates in MA, especially a very low intro rate. Currently it is 1.75% for 6 mo, then the rate is Prime - 0.75%.
https://www.massbaycu.org/products/heloc/

That being said, I went with Third Federal which for my purpose has a better rate (Prime -1.01%), even though there is no intro rate promotion. One plus with Third Federal is that there is really zero fee (if you open a savings account and keep a few dollars with them for at least 6 months, you qualify for their Loyalty Perks with zero annual fee on the HELOC forever). One downside with Third Federal is they are slow. Expect 3-6 months to close.
nanotube
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Re: HELOCs in Massachusetts

Post by nanotube »

Jagger wrote: Sat May 14, 2022 8:59 am Followup question for Third Federal HELOC clients: On the website, they state that borrowers are responsible for "doc stamps, intangible tax, transfer tax, recording tax and mortgage tax." In your experience, how much did these costs add up to? Many thanks.
I understand some states require those fees to record a loan transaction. In MA, those fees don't apply and it's really zero for me.
Topic Author
Jagger
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Re: HELOCs in Massachusetts

Post by Jagger »

Once again, thanks to all for your replies, including my question about fees and the referral to the NBER paper. I hadn't heard of Mass Bay's CU's offering; unfortunately, I can't qualify for membership. Third Federal is appealing but the 3-6 month estimated time to close is not. Eastern Bank seems good and I have a favorable view of the firm due to its focus on diversity.

Other thoughts, anyone?
bsteiner
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Re: HELOCs in Massachusetts

Post by bsteiner »

Jagger wrote: Sat May 14, 2022 8:59 am Followup question for Third Federal HELOC clients: On the website, they state that borrowers are responsible for "doc stamps, intangible tax, transfer tax, recording tax and mortgage tax." In your experience, how much did these costs add up to? Many thanks.
A few states such as New York and Florida have taxes on mortgages, similar to real estate transfer taxes. The rate varies from state to state among the states that have them. NYC also has such a tax.
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alpenglow
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Re: HELOCs in Massachusetts

Post by alpenglow »

exarkun wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 3:05 pm Interesting related paper here:. https://www.nber.org/papers/w30041
Thanks for sharing this paper.
jharkin
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Re: HELOCs in Massachusetts

Post by jharkin »

nanotube wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 8:21 pm One downside with Third Federal is they are slow. Expect 3-6 months to close.
Yes, last summer they where that slow, took us almost 4 months.
This spring things are moving a lot faster, we got though appraisal and into title in just a couple weeks. They tell me the title search may take some time however.
exarkun
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Re: HELOCs in Massachusetts

Post by exarkun »

alpenglow wrote: Tue May 17, 2022 11:42 am
exarkun wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 3:05 pm Interesting related paper here:. https://www.nber.org/papers/w30041
Thanks for sharing this paper.
Lol, I think I posted this on the wrong thread by accident
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