Sigh. It looks like I am stuck for now with my Home Equity Loan. I had hoped to switch to a new lender for several reasons:
- My current lender rate is a fixed 6.9%. I was able to find a fixed rate at 4.9% (for a limited time locally)
- My current lender only allows for a direct transfer from a bank account for the exact amount of the original loan amount in the agreement – cannot increase the amount to put toward principal. This means each month I have to write a seperate check for an extra payment toward the principal and send it in.
- My current lender has a terrible web site that allows you to do pretty much nothing.
- My current lender is giving me hassels about switching which account I use for the payments – we have been back and forth on this, with each representative giving me a different story. So this month I had to actually write a check for my normal payment. Ugh. They just can’t get things right.
So anyway, I am really fed up with my current lender and I thought I had found a deal. But then I read the fine print from my current lender. When I signed up with this lender they were running a special were they waved some fees. Well it turns out that if I switch away from this lendor before three years (this is a 10 year loan), the fees are reinstated. I have had this loan for only a year and a half, so I would be on the hook for $500 in fees for dropping them. That would pretty much wipe out the savings since I am making extra payments and trying to pay this thing off in five years. Bummer.
Well, at least I am more motivated than ever to get rid of this loan!
