Mortgage Property Types
Connecticut is a wonderful place to own property, whether it’s a starter home or the retirement property you’ve dreamed of for decades. It can be an urban townhouse, a waterside home with space for extended family, a Colonial or Victorian in a historic community, or a cabin on a quiet lake. Whatever property you’re buying, we congratulate you on your decision to purchase in the Constitution State! As you probably know, Connecticut has so much to offer. Maybe you love the Connecticut River Valley’s small towns like Chester, Deep River, and Essex, or you prefer being right in the heart of New Haven’s culture – thanks to the presence of Yale University and several world-famous pizzerias. Or you might be a snow lover who appreciates the proximity and just-right size of the state’s ski areas – yet you’re within just a couple of hours of the large New England mountain resorts.
Regardless of where you’ve concentrated your property search, you’ll find a wide variety of communities in this small state, along with the full range of property types. The most common categories financed with a mortgage are single-family residences, multi-unit properties (these could be duplexes, triplexes, or small apartment buildings), manufactured (or mobile) homes, condominiums and townhouses, and cooperatives (or co-ops).
- Single-family home: This is most often a freestanding home on its own piece of property.
- Multi-unit properties: These buildings have more than one separate and distinct living space for individual family units. Duplexes, which have two attached units, are quite common in Connecticut cities, as are small apartment buildings with three or four units.
- Manufactured home: This is a prefabricated (“prefab” for short) home that was assembled from factory-built sections that have been trucked to the home site for the final construction. Once they’re finished, pre-fabs generally look like any other single-family home.
- Condominium (condo): This is a real estate unit within a building (or multiple buildings) on a shared lot. Condo units are individually owned and may or not share walls (the detached version is usually differentiated as a condex). Most condominiums have a homeowners association (HOA) that collects dues to pay for maintaining the grounds and building exteriors and paying the property insurance premiums.
- Townhouse: This is a category of condominium that is distinct because each unit has multiple floors. They tend to be built in attached rows and have the same layout.
- Cooperative (co-op): More common in cities, a co-op is a multi-unit residential parcel where the title is held by a legal entity. While the co-op’s residents build equity in the property by buying ownership shares, their names are not on the deed.
Refinancing Your Current Loan
There are several reasons why people elect to refinance their existing home loan. Sometimes it’s as simple as securing a lower interest rate, as was the recent trend for a few years before the rates started to rise again. Another common reason that homeowners refinance is to draw some cash out of the equity they have built in the property. Equity increases as more principal is paid off with each payment, as well as when the value of the home rises due to market conditions. Also, some borrowers have taken out a loan with a variable interest rate that they’d like to refinance to a fixed before the interest goes too high. Another motivation for refinancing is to change the length of the loan – from a 30-year term to a 15-year or even 10-year loan, for example. Loans with shorter terms almost always carry lower interest rates, so the borrower saves significantly by paying it off earlier and by paying less interest.
Are you looking to re-finance for any of the above reasons? We suggest that you speak to one of our well-informed team members, who can help you determine whether it makes sense in your case. You may also consider consolidating other outstanding debt that you have – a car loan, credit card balance, or a home equity line of credit – into your refinanced home loan to get a lower interest rate as you pay them off. (While this makes sense sometimes, it isn’t always recommended. But again, our knowledgeable loan professionals will help you determine that.) When you’re ready for a more in-depth discussion about refinancing, give us a call. Our team will get you on the fast path to refinancing your Connecticut home on terms that best suited to your situation.
Reverse Mortgages
The reverse mortgage is gaining popularity among older homeowners who’ve built considerable equity and would like to convert that to cash flow. With this loan type, homeowners who are 55 and up can The reverse mortgage is a relatively new concept that’s becoming more popular, especially with retirees. It’s a good solution for homeowners above age 55 who’ve built considerable equity in their property and would like to convert that to cash flow. A reverse mortgage allows homeowners in that category to draw off that equity without paying taxes on the cash or making a monthly mortgage payment. To learn more about reverse mortgages, look under the Resources tab on our home page to find a full overview.