Construction Financing
Definition of "Construction Financing"
The method of financing used when a borrower contracts to have a house built, as opposed to purchasing a completed house. Construction can be financed in two ways. One way is to use two loans, a construction loan for the period of construction, followed by a permanent loan from another lender, which pays off the construction loan. Borrowers who use two loans must decide whether they will take out the construction loan, or have the builder do it. The second approach is to use a single combination loan, where the construction loan becomes permanent at the end of the construction period. Some lenders (primarily commercial banks) will only make construction loans. Others will only make combination loans. And some will do it either way. Two Loans Versus One Loan: Two loans mean that you shop twice and incur two sets of closing costs. One loan means that you shop only once and incur only one set of closing costs. But, to do it effectively, you must shop construction loans and permanent loans at the same time. Construction loans usually run for six months to a year and carry an adjustable interest rate that resets monthly or quarterly. In addition to points and closing costs, lenders charge a construction fee to cover their costs in administering the loan. (Construction lenders pay out the loan in stages and must monitor the progress of construction). In shopping construction loans, one must take account of all of these dimensions of the 'price.' Lenders offering combination loans typically will credit some of the fees paid for the construction loan toward the permanent loan. The lender might charge four points for the construction loan, for example, but apply three of the points toward the permanent loan. If the borrower takes the permanent loan from another lender, however, the construction lender retains the three points. This credit plus the one set of closing costs are major talking points of loan officers pushing combination loans.
Popular Mortgage Terms
A home built entirely in a factory, transported to a site, and installed there. Manufactured homes are distinguished from 'modular,' 'panelized'' and 'pre-cut' homes. Manufactured houses ...
A transaction in which interest is not paid on interest there is no compounding. For example, if you deposit $1,000 in an account that pays 5% a year simple interest, you would receive ...
A mortgage lender or mortgage broker. ...
One or more persons who hove signed the note and are equally responsible for repaying the loan. When One Co-Borrower Has Much Better Credit than the Other: A problem that arises frequently ...
A mortgage Web site that shows mortgage prices posted by participating lenders, in some cases hundreds of them. ...
An upfront cash payment required by the lender as part of the charge for the loan, expressed as a percent of the loan amount; e.g., '3 points' means a charge equal to 3% of the loan ...
The amount of the original loan remaining to be paid. It is equal to the loan amount less the sum of all prior payments of principal. ...
A borrower with the best credit rating, deserving of the lowest prices that lenders offer. ...
The number of days for which any lock or float-down holds. The longer the period, the higher the price to the borrower. ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.