An equity loan is a loan against the collateral value you have in a particular property. Your equity is the difference between the fair market value of the property and the mortgage balance owed on the property. For example if your real estate has a market value of $100,000 and you have a mortgage balance of $25,000 your equity in the property is $75,000. On the other hand if you own the property outright then your equity in the real estate is 100%. Equity loans are considered secured loans since they are backed by the property and will generally have a lower interest rate than unsecured loans. Our equity loans are all first mortgage loans. This means if you have a balance owing on a prior mortgage we will pay it off at the time we do the new loan so that you only have one mortgage payment.

When a person takes out a mortgage loan on any type real estate the lender will place a mortgage against the title to the property as security for the loan. This is done by recording a mortgage lien in the public records in the county where the real estate is located. The mortgage insures that if the mortgage loan is not paid according to the terms of a promissory note that the lender has the legal right to have the property sold at a public sale for the amount owed to him. Even though the lender has placed a mortgage against your property you still have full use of your property as well as full title. The lender has simply placed a lien on the title. Although the term “mortgage” is commonly used when discussing mortgage loans an actual mortgage is almost never used in the Western United States. The trust deed or deed of trust has taken its place and is now almost universally used in lieu of a mortgage. With a few exceptions the trust deed performs the same function as a mortgage, that of providing the security for the loan being made.

A private lender is an individual person who makes mortgage loans with his own money. The loan is normally secured by the equity in the borrower's real estate. Private lenders in Oregon are increasingly making up a larger percentage of mortgage equity loans made in Oregon. This increase in private lending is primarily due to tighter lending restrictions imposed by banks and other conventional lenders over the last few years. Private money lenders differ from conventional lenders in that their lending guidelines are in many cases more flexible regarding both the types of real estate they will loan on and the creditworthiness of the borrower. An Oregon private lender will generally loan on any type of Oregon property including land, rental properties, as well as residential and commercial real estate.