You might be moving to Rhode Island from another state, or you might be buying your first home there. No matter what, you should learn about Rhode Island home loans before you look for a house and a mortgage. This article tells you what you should know before you buy a house in Rhode Island:
In Rhode Island, the average price of a home is $133,400. Recently, the value of homes in Rhode Island has been going up faster than the national average. In fact, Rhode Island has the highest rate of home appreciation in New England. But in some parts of Rhode Island, prices are going up faster than ever. In fact, the prices of homes are going up four times faster than people's incomes. Because of this, many people in Rhode Island don't make enough money to buy a median-priced home with a traditional loan.
Different zip codes in Rhode Island can have very different home prices. For example, the median home value in Rhode Island is $133,400, but the median home value in Providence, Rhode Island, was $520,000 in the summer of 2005. Recently, the average interest rate in Rhode Island has been lower than the average in the rest of the country.
The state law of Rhode Island forbids "section 10 mortgages" that are more than the APR or points and fees set by lawmakers. Also, after the first year of a mortgage, there are no longer any fees or penalties for paying off the loan early. If a borrower pays off their home in full during the first year of their mortgage, they can't be charged more than 2% of the balance at the time of payoff as a prepayment penalty.
Residents of Rhode Island pay a sales tax, a "piggyback" state income tax, and a tax on gasoline. Rhode Island, on the other hand, just got rid of their car tax.
