Comparison Shopping for a Home Equity Loan
Use this worksheet to help you shop for the best deal
Compare answers to these questions
Lender A
Lender B
Lender C
My Current
Mortgage
What are the monthly payments? .............................................
What is the Annual Percentage Rate (APR)? ............................
the cost of credit expressed as a yearly rate; includes the
interest rate, points, broker fees, and other credit charges
What is the interest rate? ..........................................................
the cost of borrowing money expressed as a
percentage rate
Will the interest rate change? ...................................................
When? .........................................................................
How often? ..................................................................
By how much? .............................................................
What will you have to pay in points ............................................
What will you have to pay in fees? ............................................
Application or loan processing fee .............................
Origination or underwriting fee ...................................
Lender or funding fee ..................................................
Appraisal fee ...............................................................
Document preparation and recording fees ................
Broker fees ..................................................................
Other fees ....................................................................
Are any of the application fees refundable if you don’t
get the loan? .......................................................................
How many years will you have to repay the loan? ....................
Is this an installment loan or a line of credit? ...........................
Is there a balloon payment? .....................................................
What are the total closing costs? ..............................................
If you use a broker, how a