A HELOC is a home equity line of credit. This is one way some people use to borrow money for large purchases such as their children s college education or a large purchase that they would not otherwise use their credit card to purchase. Because this is a variable interest rate loan it will have some tie in with current mortgage rates.
It works like this. You apply for the home equity line of credit. Many things are taken into consideration like your credit score. But of course as the name implies the most important factor is how much equity you have in your home. Equity is the difference between what you owe on the property to the lender holding the note on the property and what the property is worth on the open market.
This is the amount you will apply for with a home equity loan. The collateral of course is your property. Keep in mind of the mortgage rates if you fail to make the payments then the land will be foreclosed on. The first lender will get paid first and then the people who hold the note on the home equity loan.
Of course no one goes into such a loan expecting that to happen. But the long and the short of it is that people who are facing foreclosure because they defaulted on their home equity loan never planned to be in that position. The home equity loan works like a line of credit. You can borrow the agreed amount based on the equity in your home. You take this out as you need it and then you pay an interest rate on the amount you have taken out.
The interest rate you pay will be based on the prime market value at the time. This rate may be different than the current GIC rates, but it will be a variable interest rate. So you are taking a risk that the interest rates will stay low but they might shoot up also. One advantage this type of loan has over the basic credit card is that you can write off the interest on your income tax.
This is one reason some find it to their advantage to take out this type of loan verses using their credit cards. Some might be surprised to know that there was a time when people could deduct interest paid on credit cards from their income tax liability.
So if you are looking at a home equity line of credit you need to make sure you have a secure job. You definitely want to have at least six months of income liquid to pay your bills in case you lose your job or some other emergency occurs. You want to make sure you are counting the costs of such a loan. You will want to make sure the reason you are taking the loan is important enough to cover all the planning you will have to do.
And you have to be prepared for the worst. No one plans to go into foreclosure and lose their home. But remember when you take out any loan with your home as collateral you always have to be prepared for the worst case scenario.
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