Your home is truly an asset. If you manage to build up sufficient amount of equity around it, then you could go for a home equity loan. However, be sure to know the costs that come along with it.

Additional costs

Most home equity loan schemes come with attractive discounts and lucrative offers. However most borrowers do not realize that while initially the costs may seem lesser, from a long term perspective, the costs can work out to be quite a lot. For instance, the closure fees are usually quite steep in the case of the home equity type of loan. Even the associated fees and expenses can be much higher than regular loans in the market. Most often lending institutions hike up these rates in order to compensate for the lesser rate on interest. In addition to these fees and associated expenses, the borrower also needs to pay the interest for a period of time.

Tax deductible

One of the main advantages of a home equity loan is that the interest on it is tax deductible. You can consult with the accountant in your office in order to get a better idea of how it works. This can really work to your advantage if you plan on borrowing a small amount. This can save you a much higher amount as opposed to a regular line of credit that doesn’t work up that much savings. This is of course taking into consideration the closing costs as well as all associated fees of the loan.

Tenure of the loan

Another aspect that will largely determine the overall costs of a home equity loan is the duration of the loan. You may be misled into thinking that stretching the repayment over a longer term can result in smaller monthly payments and save you money, but it is actually the other way round! The longer the overall duration of the loan repayment period, the more costly it can work out to be in the long term. It is primarily because you end up paying interest for a much longer duration. This often exceeds the original sum of the mortgage. So while a shorter loan duration will result in larger chunks of payment each month, it is still much cheaper when considered on a long term basis.

Home equity loan vs. line of credit

Many people tend to get confused between a regular home equity loan and a home equity line of credit. However, the two are quite different. In the case of the loan, the interest rate is usually fixed while in the case of the line of credit, the interest rate is of the adjustable variety. This means that the interest rates will fluctuate depending on the prevailing market conditions. Thus a subtle difference between going for a loan or a credit line can significantly affect your monthly payments and savings too.

Negotiating

It is always better to be prepared before negotiating with your lending agency. Hence be sure to know enough about prevailing rates and then arrive at a discounted deal.

By: Alan Lim

The Home equity Loan or HELOC has been around for many years and in the past has been a useful tool in helping middle class families do improvements on their home, send a child to college or even help provide starter capital for a small business.

The concept is based on the idea that your home is worth a set amount in the current market, for example $250,000. Your mortgage balance is a portion of that market value, for example $ 100,000 leaving you with $ 150,000 in equity. This equity can be accessed via a loan or line of credit up to a certain percentage of that equity amount. Any debt against that equity lowers the value of the equity above total debt (mortgage and Home equity). So a $50,000 loan against the equity would lower the available equity for future loans to $100,000. Or a line of credit (more common use of HELOCs) where $20,000 was actually used would lower available equity to $130,000.

Home equity loan repayments are tax deductible to the consumer and in a stable economy where interest rates are low a family with substantial enough income to make the payments or pay off large chunks of the loan can do well.

Unfortunately, the current atmosphere for these loans is bleak. People borrowed on the equity of their homes for any number of wise or unwise reasons and saw the value of their homes shrink along with any available equity. Some saw the reduction so severe that the loans outstanding were more than the worth of the house.

Also, unfortunate is the rise of unscrupulous lenders and their agents and brokers who decieved people into loans they could not afford such as mortgage brokers who neglected to tell their client about the escrow (property taxes and homeowners insurance) that would be due on top of their regular mortgage payment thereby doubling the anticipated promised payment to something less affordable.

Or the bank who gave kickbacks to appraisers to over-appraise a home so that more equity would be available; equity often borrowed on at the closing. More business for the lender, bad for the borrower.

When looking at a home equity loan try to find a reliable lender through research, ratings and word of mouth. Next, look at rates. Some are set at the Prime Interest rate or slightly above. They vary from lender to lender as well as do the closing costs. Next, determine the length of time on the loan. Remember the loan will be structured to indicate the amount of your payments representing interest only. If you pay via that method you will be paying interest but not decrease your principal.

Most importantly, do an honest self appraisal of why you wish to use the equity in your home.
Many people use HE loans to pay back high interest credit card debt. What happens all too often is that the credit card is not destroyed as it should be, but used again later. Credit card debt thus increases and the HE loan still hasn’t been paid off and so total debt has increased.

Going into debt can be useful if well planned and thought out but many times the lender is plunged into a cold, murky place where no matter what…the loan has to be paid back.

By: Alan Fernandez

Home equity loans are fixed rate home loans that allow you to tap into the money (equity) you’ve already invested in your home to finance debts or other purposes at a lower interest rate than most revolving credit options.

With house valuations increasing considerably over the last 10 years many UK homeowners are unaware of equity loans as a way of raising finance.

For example if you are a homeowner with a house valued at £300,000 and you have an outstanding mortgage of say £100,000 you can use the difference of £200,000 as equity to take out a loan. A Home Equity Loan can be really useful if your existing mortgage lender will apply a redemption penalty if you wish to change your current mortgage. If you don’t want to pay this penalty a remortgage will not be possible so a home equity loan, which is independent of your original mortgage company, is a viable option.

Taking out a home equity loan online from is a much better option than selling your home to get the money. If you sell your home, you will be left with a lump sum of cash after paying off your mortgage. A home equity loan allows you to get that cash without selling your home.

One of the main benefits of the home equity loan which sets it apart from other loans is with this kind of loan the interest rate is likely to be lower (if not the best rate loan) as the lender has the guarantee that you can pay the loan back because of the equity in your property.

Although a home equity loan has many benefits you should also be cautious before taking out such a loan. Because it is still a secured loan with the property as collateral, a Home Equity Loan generally has lower interest rates. For the same reason, Home Equity Loans can be risky, because if you default on payments then you put the property at risk of foreclosure. The homeowner must also be prepared to pay off the loan balance when the house is sold.

Some lenders have stopped offering home-equity lines of credit and home-equity loans altogether, even to borrowers with good credit. And lenders that still offer these types of loans are being a lot more selective. The lenders that have cut back on home-equity loans and credit lines are mainly those that raise money by selling the loans to investors. And since the recent issues with sub-prime loans the lenders are being extra cautious about offering these types of loans.

Conclusion

An equity loan may not always be the best solution to all of your financial problems. However a home equity loan can become an important part of short-term financial planning. And, once the loan is paid, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that you’ve once again proven your credit worthiness.

By: Paul Hockney