401k For House Down Payment – LoanLove.com Gives Advice For Those Considering This Option
San Diego, CA (PRWEB) September 23, 2013 -- LoanLove.com is a borrower advice website that provides detailed insights into the mortgage industry in a fun and entertaining way. The team at LoanLove.com is devoted to help empower both first time and experienced homeowners with valuable resources, first-class knowledge and connections to top-rated industry professionals and has the mission of helping consumers and borrowers to obtain the latest information on mortgage lending trends, the real estate market and the U.S. financial landscape in order to help them obtain a home loan that they will love. Loan Love continues to help their readers to understand all their options when it comes to home loans with their new article that explains the pros and cons of using a 401k for house down payment.
The article says: “Your 401K is one of the most powerful retirement investment vehicles you have, and the best way to make it grow is to keep investing and leave it untouched until you’re well into your 60s. But sometimes, life throw’s a curve ball and you need a lump sum to meet a major life expense – like purchasing your primary home. In other words, should you use a 401k withdrawal for home purchase?”
Loan Love explains that will it might seem like a good choice to take money from a 401k (it is the borrower’s own money, after all) most experts strongly warn against doing this, as there are some stiff fees and penalties for taking out the money early, as it is a retirement account. However, there may be some cases where this is the only viable option. But before a borrower decides to go ahead with this plan, they should be aware that they may have some better options available to them, three of which are presented in the new article from LoanLove.com.
Before withdrawing money from a 401k for a home purchase, Loan Love suggests looking into these alternatives:
“- Consider taking a second mortgage from your lender – or from another lender – to cover the down payment.
- Ask your lender if they can provide a larger mortgage – say 90% or 95% of the home’s value – by having you pay private mortgage insurance. PMI will increase your monthly costs – so be sure and add that into your “can-I-afford-this-mortgage” calculation – but it’s one more way to get you into the home you want.
- Take a loan from your 401K. Many people don’t know they can use their 401K as a source of loans (assuming your employer allows it). In this scenario, your account serves as a lender; you pay interest, but that interest is paid back into your account, to help make up for the earnings you’ll lose by taking out some of the principal. Here, the major risk is that if you lose your job before paying back your loan, you have to pay back the loan in full within a pretty short period of time – usually a couple of months – or else it will be considered a withdrawal and all those penalties will apply.”
If none of these alternatives are an option, only then should a home buyer consider dipping in to their 401k retirement account. The Loan Love article ends by saying: “Once you know what options are available to you, you need to sit down with a calculator to figure out which option is the best choice for your budget and your income.”
For more information, please visit LoanLove.com for the full article.
Kevin Blue, Loan Love, http://loanlove.com, +1 949-292-8401, [email protected]
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