Boat refinancing... Help please

[Homerr]

Sorry, this may be a double post to my 'lending tree' post, but I had to ask this question specifically:<br /><br />WIth the interest rates at the lowest ever (on homes anyway) I'm wondering if this may be a good time to refinance the boat. Some of the rates I've seen are outstanding, considering I'm in 'rip-you-off' Oregon!<br /><br />I've been searching for a bit on the net tonight, and I've noticed that most lenders will only refinance on loans greater than $25,000. <br /><br />Can anyone recommend a reliable lender that will do less than $25K, and long terms (10+ years) ?<br />Or maybe a lender that will consolidate my other bills with the boat loan?<br /><br />I've never applied for a loan on the internet, so you can imagine I'm a little nervous and cautious.<br /><br />I've considered a home equity, but I'd rather keep that for an emergency.<br /><br />Thanks,<br /><br />H.

 

[Bob in Calif.]

Re: Boat refinancing... Help please

Homerr.........Have you considered an equity line of credit? I had one of those about 9 years ago and it worked out real nice like.<br /> I applied for an equity loan on my home to do some improvements and stuff like getting the driveway repaved, etc. I was told I could use any or all of the maxium limit I set for myself and there were no conditions of what I spent it on, car, boat, lottery tickets, etc.<br /> There was no interest charge, untill I used some of the money for whatever. After the loan went thru, was given a check book to write checks on the account. It worked out really swell.<br /> I don't remember how long the loan was good for, but it had an adjustable interest rate, definatly higher than now.<br />I set a loan maxium of $50,000, but used less than $30,000 of it. It worked out well, as I was able to save some money by dealing with the contractors by paying them in full as soon the job was completed to my satisfaction. With that information in hand, the contractors and vendors were able to reduce their prices and save me some nice $$$. A big plus was that I could write off the interest, being the loan was against my home, whereas a boat or car loan can not be. One other thing. If you do the "Line of credit" loan as I did, you could pay off the boat loan you have now and probably get a much lower interest rate, plus you would get the title to your boat. That is , unless your baot loan has a pre-payment penalty. Be sure to check that out. As the old saying goes, "Money talks and B..., aw, you know the rest. ...Bob in Calif..