Before 1940
An estimated 37.3 percent of homes were built in 1939 or earlier, and about 65 percent before 1960.
Westfield, Union County
Paying for work on a Westfield, NJ home you own
For Westfield homeowners planning work on an older house: how to match the loan to the way the bills arrive, from a line of credit or a home equity loan to a cash-out refinance or a renovation loan, and how to compare them. Fidelity Residential is a direct, licensed mortgage lender with a New Jersey office on Route 36 in West Long Branch, in Monmouth County, and we lend across New Jersey.
- Direct, licensed mortgage lender
- NMLS #103098
- Equal Housing Lender
How will the work be paid?
Pick the closest, or call and talk it through.
Fidelity Residential · NMLS #103098 · Equal Housing Lender
Westfield housing
Older houses, and owners with a mortgage
The town of Westfield counts about 31,100 residents and about 11,200 homes in the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey estimates for 2020 to 2024, and about four occupied homes in five, an estimated 81.1 percent, are owned by the household living there.
Of about 8,800 owner-occupied homes, an estimated 69.3 percent, about 6,100, have a mortgage. By the Census estimate, their median value is about $953,400.
Long-time households
About 26 percent of households have lived in their home since before 2000.
Four bedrooms
An estimated 38.4 percent of homes have four bedrooms, and 16.7 percent five or more.
Two-family houses
An estimated 8.6 percent of homes are in buildings of two units, and 78.1 percent are single detached houses.
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020 to 2024. Estimates, not counts.
Fidelity Residential is a direct mortgage lender licensed in New Jersey under a Residential Mortgage Lender License. Our office is at 121 NJ-36, Suite 230, West Long Branch, in Monmouth County; we do not have an office in Westfield, and we lend across New Jersey.
Choosing
Start with how the bills will arrive
Work on an older house is seldom paid in one go. A contractor who bills as each stage is finished suits a line you draw on; a fixed price agreed up front suits a lump sum.
Then look at the mortgage you have now. To keep it as it is, a line of credit or a home equity loan sits behind it. If you want to change it anyway, a cash-out refinance can do both at one closing.
Four questions to settle
- Your mortgage: keep it as it is, or change it anyway?
- The bills: in stages over months, or one amount now?
- The payment: how much movement in the payment can you carry?
- The total cost: what each option costs over its life, set side by side
The options
Four ways to pay for the work
Home equity line of credit
The mortgage you have is left untouched. During the draw period you draw for each stage, repay and draw again, and the required payment covers interest on what you have drawn. The rate follows a published index, so the payment moves.
How a HELOC worksHome equity loan
One lump sum at closing, repaid in equal monthly payments at a rate that does not change, also behind the mortgage you keep. It suits a project with a fixed price.
Home equity loansCash-out refinance
A new, larger first mortgage replaces the old one, and the difference is paid to you at closing, at a fixed or an adjustable rate. The new loan is held to a share of the home’s current value.
Cash-out refinancesRenovation loan
Refinances the home you own and pays for the work in one new mortgage, based on what the house will be worth when the work is finished. The money for the work is held back and paid out after each stage is inspected.
Renovation loansSetting a line against a refinance? See HELOC vs cash-out refinance, with a calculator for each.
Before you sign
Weigh the whole cost, not the monthly payment
Each of these is secured by your home. A larger or longer loan can lower the monthly figure while raising what you pay over the years, so ask for the options laid side by side, with the total cost of each.
The value of the house. A cash-out refinance usually needs an appraisal, though some conventional loans get a waiver. A smaller line of credit may need no more than an automated valuation; a larger line gets a full appraisal.
A payment that moves. The payment on a line can rise as well as fall. For a set payment, a home equity loan, or a cash-out refinance with a fixed rate, keeps it steady.
Interest on what you use. On a line you pay interest on the amount drawn, not on the whole limit, which is why staged work and a line go together.
Questions
Questions from Westfield homeowners
Do you lend in Westfield?
Yes. Fidelity Residential is a dba of PFN Lending Group, Inc. (NMLS #103098), which holds a New Jersey Residential Mortgage Lender License, and we lend across New Jersey. You can check the licence on NMLS Consumer Access (opens in a new tab).
Do you have an office in Westfield?
No. Our office is at 121 NJ-36, Suite 230, West Long Branch, NJ 07764, in Monmouth County, and we lend across New Jersey. Call 732-686-9999 to talk with a licensed loan officer.
Which suits a renovation paid in stages?
Usually a line of credit: you draw as each stage is billed and pay interest on what you have drawn. If you know the full price now, a lump sum may suit you instead.
Will a line of credit change my first mortgage?
No. The mortgage you have keeps its rate, balance and payment; the line is a separate loan behind it.
Can one new loan cover the mortgage and the work?
Yes. A renovation loan can refinance your home and pay for the work, sized on the value when the work is done, and a cash-out refinance pays you a sum at closing that can go toward the work.
Do I need an appraisal?
A cash-out refinance usually needs one, though some conventional loans get a waiver, and a renovation loan values the house as it will be when finished. A smaller line of credit may need no more than an automated valuation.
Talk with a loan officer near you
Get a quote online, or call us and talk it through with a licensed loan officer.
What happens next
- Tell us about your loan. A few quick questions about the property and the loan you want. No credit check to start and no obligation.
- A licensed loan officer reviews your answers and follows up with you, usually within one business day.
- This is a request for a quote, not a loan application and not a commitment to lend.
This page is general information, not a commitment to lend. Programs, terms and eligibility depend on credit, income, property and underwriting review and are subject to change without notice.
Reviewed by Robert Shamie, CEO, NMLS #241428 · Last reviewed:
Fidelity Residential (PFN Lending Group, Inc., NMLS #103098) is a direct mortgage lender licensed in 40 states and the District of Columbia, with 26 years in business.