Did Your Septic System Fail? Margie Got a HELOC
Margie, an Integra First member, had a septic system and a well failure – and only a month to fix it. She was hosting visitors for two backyard weddings. What would she do?
“Talk about sticker shock,” Margie said. “Where was I going to come up with almost $12,000?”
“What an enormous weight the HELOC loan took off my shoulders. I'll never be able to thank Jim and his supervisor, Kristina, enough for working with me and coming up with a timely and affordable HELOC.”
With one visit to Integra First, our team gave her access to that money quickly through a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC), a second mortgage using the equity in her home. The HELOC allowed her to take out a larger sum of money, compared to a personal loan.
Since it was a line of credit, it allowed her to continue to draw from the money, as her needs came up throughout the repairs.
“I didn't have to use it all, and I only pay back the amount actually I used,” Margie said. “The money was put into my account and I was able to use it to pay the septic company, the permit fees, and the electrician.”
Jim, our mortgage lender, also ended up consolidating some of her other outstanding loans through the HELOC, which meant she was paying one monthly sum, and it was less than the payments for each individual loan.
“[Jim] did flip flops to try to get me a HELOC. He understood. He came through for me,” Margie said. “I would walk over hot coals for him.”
Here's Margie's testimonial:
What did you end up buying?
“My septic tank died completely. It’s not a common thing to happen, so I had to replace the entire system.”
How did you decide on a HELOC?
“I had never heard of it. Jim told me what the letters [in the word HELOC] meant.”
What did you like about the process?
“The only question was, ‘How much is your monthly mortgage and what is your home worth?’ They were great at figuring out – they wanted to give me money. Isn’t that something? The new septic system was completed three days before my granddaughter's wedding!”
Any plans?
“It doesn’t matter the month, that loan is there for me to use as I need it. I still have $3,000 that’s going to sit there for emergencies. What I’m doing now is paying off what I used.”