Financing

[cc8375]

Bought used from a dealer, he took care of finacing. Found a bank who did 20 years on used, did not ask about full timing.

[BillJinOR]

Soooooo........buy before you leave your stick home as a "vacation" Rv , If your plans change .. Well, they change ! once the loan is done a nd a few months passed I've never heard of any bank calling the loan because you decide to full time ! as long as your payments come in on time they could care less . I have heard of existing full timers having problems and getting lousy rates , if your not a full timer take note and take care of your needs before you make the jump.

[Pigman1]

I think you'll find in many cases that your interest rate will depend on your credit rating (credit score) and amount of down payment. For sure shop around as we've seen as much as 2% difference in offered interest rate. USAA is definitely not a preferred lender in my experience, and I've dealt with them and been a member since 1963. Also, be prepared to furnish all sorts of crazy paperwork. I was asked for a certified copy of my farm deed that had the financing release on it. We paid the place off over 20 years ago, but I get the impression they're looking for reasons to say NO.

[flaggship1]

Another thing that has not been mentioned that came up in 2010 was Reg Z lending requirements. I never read how that all worked out but know first hand that a year of insurance and taxes did not go into escrow as was being kicked around on our purchase in Aug12. Basically the RV transaction was being looked upon as same as S&B and the industry jumped all over it.

Some of the things I read back then from industry groups included them arguing that Motorhomes etc were not well suited as permanent dwellings. Doh. Basically citing fulltimers as small subgroup mucking up the works for the broader population.

There was also some concern about lending to full timers that can't be tracked as to location tied to homeland security. Given the shape the market was in then it was an easy "no" for lenders who were always out $ for a depreciating asset that drove off into the sunset. They had always had the risk with manufactured housing and were trying to make RV lending similar to that. Wheel Estate always had tougher requirements it seems.

I'm going to wait until after the holidays and give Essex and few others a call to see where they stand now on full time loans. A search the other day indicated they were still talking a good game but as the process went on it felt like they were really looking for a way to say no.

If that's the case I can probably put away the idea of upgrading after several years on the road in the current rig when I begin to draw SS. I was thinking that the boost in income would allow a sale or trade into a newer model if we decided to keep full-time another handful of years.

I know this topic was given full treatment in the past but things change. Maybe we can keep this going a bit and see where the market, rules and regs are currently. I know I'm interested.

[flaggship1]

Found this Trailer Life from Nov 7th 2012 on RV lending including full-time info. http://www.trailerlife.com/trailer-h...inancing-tips/

May be helpful.

[beenthere]

wow maybe its where you live but in ND a loan is a loan and do what you want with it...i just got my loan today for 4.95% and 10 years on my '97 london aire.....i asked about F/T after reading this post a few days ago and they said WHAT... maybe local banks and credit unions are the way to go...i Never have banked at a bank that was national...never will either..always local owned....which we have lots of here..jeff

[flaggship1]

Originally Posted by beenthere

wow maybe its where you live but in ND a loan is a loan and do what you want with it...i just got my loan today for 4.95% and 10 years on my '97 london aire.....i asked about F/T after reading this post a few days ago and they said WHAT... maybe local banks and credit unions are the way to go...i Never have banked at a bank that was national...never will either..always local owned....which we have lots of here..jeff

Are you saying the "WHAT" meant they would have given you an identical loan for full time?
That's how I'm reading it but want to be sure. Also was it a credit union or a independent bank? I do think credit unions are a different sort of animal but usually there is some connection between the members and the CU other than banking. I'm no expert on banks but thought they were all operating under the same or similar bank lending standards / rules and regs. Could be wrong on that but certainly a relationship with the lender would help, especially where full time is concerned.
Maybe it is a ND thing and worth looking into.

I think a lot of us research rates but let the dealer shop the loan then fight for rate either by calling our bank or another source or dickering with the dealer to get to where we want to be. Maybe we should always start with financing on our own and go in pre-qualified. I knew I was going to qualify by credit score, bank history and size of downpayment so I let the dealer do the work and it ended up my bank made the loan a 1/4 point lower than the offer dealer had even with their show discount. And I never spoke to the bank. I think it would have been different if I'd said full-time though.

[mrbadboy]

if you are a veteran try USAA

[beenthere]

flagship yes i was at two places and asked about ft....our local owned communnity bank did not care and i went with a Credit union as the rate was .1 better which is really nothing on 30 g ....at the bank i only talk to one guy which i have followed from bank to bank as they went corporate and he kept local....i have had many large loans with him i was a home builder and would have a couple specs on market...i have never really let the dealer do my loans..maybe i am wrong but just my way...the more places you check the more your rating goes down and i think thats wrong also..jeff