So, you have a beautiful home and you are looking to make it even better through improvements. But where is the cash for it? Well, the cash is in the home itself. Yes, it really is. And the concept of generating cash through your home is called home equity loan.
Home equity is the extent of ownership a home owner has in the home. This is a concept that is very popular in the mortgage industry. Home equity can be used to generate cash when you need it. This is done through home equity loans. So, home equity loans are the mortgage loans wherein you utilize the home equity to get loan for home improvement, debt consolidation etc. However, like any type of mortgage loan, you need to get your basics right and look for the best deal on home equity loans.
Even if you wouldn’t dream of running your credit-card balance through the roof, chances are you have no qualms about borrowing heavily against the roof over your head.
And why not, when you can so effortlessly take out a home-equity line of credit, or HELOC, and draw on it as needed up to a preset limit? They’re fast, simple and, given booming home prices, seemingly inexhaustible.
To be sure, we’ve often said on this Web site and in our magazine that they’re good for certain things. But there are ways that these seemingly innocuous loans can come back to bite you.
Risk No. 1: Those low payments balloon
HELOCs are structured as interest-only loans, so the minimum payments can be enticingly small. Currently, someone with a balance of $36,427 (the national average) would owe only about $200 a month. Put the same amount on a credit card charging 13 percent and the minimum would be around $1,000.
While a HELOC’s interest-only payments feel relatively painless, they have a serious downside: You’re not retiring any principal. If you borrowed $20,000 the day you opened the line of credit, you’d still owe $20,000 when the interest-only payoff period ends, generally after 10 years.
At that point, you would have to start paying down the principal, which means your monthly payments would spike. Of course, you could roll the balance over into a fresh HELOC. Many people do.
“The risk is that you make small payments on a big debt forever and never make a dent,” cautions Fritz Elmendorf, vice president of the Consumer Bankers Association.
The solution: Start paying off the principal in advance by exceeding your minimum payment each month.
Risk No. 2: That low rate rises
You may figure that even if interest rates edge up, the hike will barely register on your monthly HELOC statement. But interest-rate moves tend to happen in clusters as the Federal Reserve seeks to get the economy on track.
Since June 2004 the prime rate, which HELOCs are pegged to, has climbed from 4 percent to 6.25 percent. The results are quite visible: On that $36,427 average HELOC balance you’d pay about $70 extra a month.
If rate hikes continue, as many experts expect, it will be like water torture for HELOC holders.
“A quarter point here, a quarter point there, and soon you start to feel the pain of significantly increased monthly payments,” says Keith Gumbinger of HSH Associates, a financial research firm in Pompton Plains, N.J.
The solution: If you expect to take more than three years paying off your debt, skip the HELOC and use a fixed-rate home-equity loan instead.
Risk No. 3: You’re hit with hidden fees
Increasingly, banks are burying extra costs in the fine print. One of the most onerous is the early-termination fee, aimed at consumers who jump from loan to loan in search of better terms.
In response, lenders have begun to charge a fee if a line is closed within a specified period, typically three years. Today more than 60 percent of lenders have early-termination fees vs. around 45 percent in 2000, according to HSH Associates.
Usually an early-termination fee is a few hundred dollars. But some lenders charge a percentage of the outstanding balance or even force people to fork over transaction costs that were supposedly “waived” when the credit line was first opened. Either of these scenarios can end up costing you thousands.
The obvious loophole is to keep the line of credit open with a balance of zero or a few dollars rather than closing it down altogether, but lenders have thought of that. Accounts that remain open but unused for a set period (usually one year) get stuck with inactivity fees, typically around $50. You can also expect to pay an annual fee, again about $50.
The solution: Shop around for a lender that doesn’t impose heavy fees — or at least be aware of the fees written into your loan and avoid them.
Risk No. 4: You lose your equity
Most HELOC tappers assume that some day they’ll just sell their home and the loan will effectively disappear. But there are no guarantees — and there doesn’t have to be a bubble for this assumption to put your equity in danger.
Let’s say you bought your house for $200,000 but it was recently appraised for $300,000. Sell for anything close to the appraised value and you’ll reap a tidy profit. Now throw a $75,000 HELOC balance into the equation. Suddenly the local market need only sag a bit and you can be in trouble, unable to net enough on the sale of your home to pay off both the mortgage and HELOC balances.
The solution: Leave yourself an equity cushion of at least 20 percent.
Risk No. 5: You borrow and overspend
No question, HELOCs offer better rates than bank loans, credit cards and most everything else out there. But whether they’re truly a good deal depends on how you use the money.
In a 2004 survey by Synergistics Research, based in Atlanta, 57 percent of respondents reported using HELOCs for home improvement. This can be a sensible use of HELOCs, as can some debt consolidation (cited by 35 percent of respondents) and paying for education (13 percent).
“If you’re going to pull money out of your home, make it count,” says Nan Sabel, a financial planner in Bedford, Mass.
But what if you are simply siphoning off your home’s equity in order to live beyond your means? According to the Synergistics survey, for example, 13 percent of HELOC holders have tapped the lines for travel or other leisure pursuits.
Bottom line: Your Hawaiian idyll will truly be more than just a memory if you end up paying it off over many years with interest.
The solution: Resolve to use your HELOC only for expenses with long-lasting benefits: education, home improvement or debt reduction.
As we already know, internet is the source of knowledge and information on everything. And something like mortgage loans is a favorite topic on the internet. There is a lot of information available on all types of mortgages, including home equity loans.

Almost any given day of the week there’s a good chance you’ll see at least one advertisement for a home equity loan on television. They are certainly growing in popularity. How do they work; however, and are there any benefits in them for you?

Basically a home equity loan allows you to borrow money using your home as collateral as long as you have paid down the original home loan so that you now have equity built up in the home. Let’s say you originally bought the home for $100,000 and have paid that loan down to $75,000. The home has also appreciated in value and is now worth $125,000. You could potentially take out a home equity loan for $50,000.

There are definitely some advantages to home equity loans. One of the most important is that you can usually obtain a lower interest rate on a home equity loan than many other types of loans. In addition, even if you have problems with your credit, you can probably still qualify for a home equity loan because you’re using the equity you’ve built up in your home as collateral. In addition, the interest you pay on the loan is typically tax deductible. Finally, unlike other types of loans in which you may only be able to borrow a small amount, with this type of loan you usually borrow far more.

Individuals who are considering large purchases often find home equity loans to be quite attractive. Such expenses might include the purchase of a vehicle, remodeling expenses, vacation, medical or education costs. In some cases, it can also be beneficial to consolidate debts that carry a high interest rate and pay them off with a lower interest home equity loan.

Like most everything else in life; however, there are some disadvantages to a home equity loan. One of the most important is that if you cannot meet the new payments for the loan, you could be at risk of losing your home. In addition, as more and more home equity loan lenders pop up, it has become increasingly apparent that some are being run by conmen who are only out to make a quick buck. Be sure to always check out any lender you consider with the Better Business Bureau to make sure they are actually legitimate.

Of course, the large number of lenders offering home equity loans today can actually be a positive factor for you because it means you have more bargaining power in terms of shopping around for the best rates.

Still not sure whether a home equity loan is right for you? Always make sure you are getting the best quote possible and ask yourself whether the reason for the loan is worth the risk you may be taking. If you feel that it is and you are confident you will be able to meet the payment schedule without becoming overburdened financially, start by doing your research first to ensure you have all of your bases covered.

It is difficult to manage the finances with the ever-increasing default rates and delinquencies. The prospect to having to pay many bills of different amounts every month from the existing loans to medical expenses, credit cards and so on can be of great pain. It is not only difficult to have a track of all the expenses and bills but also the cumulative costs can sum up to a big amount. This is where the home equity loans might come to the rescue, as it helps to pay only one bill every month.

Home equity loans may help get the finances organized and also to plan accordingly. Home equity loan makes debt consolidation possible. Home equity loan lets the person to have the flexibility of planning ahead for other living needs through debt consolidation. Outstanding loan amounts, credit card bills and other kinds of liabilities may involve paying high interest rates and expenditure. A home equity loan helps in paying off the entire debts and also allows keeping some cash in hand. This leaves the person with high earning balance, which is got after the deduction towards monthly repayment of home equity loans. Hence home equity loans are said to be the best method for consolidating loans with higher interest rates.

Home equity loan provides an opportunity for the house owner to borrow money by producing collateral in the form of pledging the house. The loan is obtained without any strain even if the applicant has a bad credit because the lender views it very safe to provide loans having the house as collateral. The money borrowed is also more making it very useful to clear off debts with higher interest rates.

The home equity loan comes with a lower interest rate than any other unsecured loans. The repayment term and the amount to be paid every month is known and budgeting can be done accordingly as it can be got with a fixed rate of interest. The home equity loans repayment term ranges from five years to twenty years. It provides the flexibility to consolidate debt and fits the budget. If the debt consolidation balance is more then the person can go for a longer repayment period plan as it will provide lower monthly payments so that other living expense needs can also be met along without difficulty.

Home equity loans are easy to obtain. To qualify for home equity loans a reasonable credit score is required along with a sufficient earning potential to handle the additional debt. Since a home equity loan is a second mortgage another payment will be added to the debts. With the help of debt consolidation the second mortgage with a lower payment will replace all the other debts making the same amount of debts to be handled easily. Home equity loans come with a adjustable rate mortgage or fixed rate mortgage. It is upto the person to decide the kind he would need. The person can get even more amount of equity loan than the amount required for debt consolidation.

Home Equity Loan in terms of common man is, by using an individuals home he can borrow money. In this case the property is used as a collateral guarantee for the money received. It has been understood that the individual has to repay the debt within a time frame, and if he fails to do so the money lender can sell the collateral and take his money back. So, in this case the equity in the home is used as collateral. If the debt has not been paid the concerned party will be forced to lose his home. If the loan amount has been paid, in full then the property will be the buyers. Equity can be explained as the difference between the worth of the home and how much loan exists on the mortgage and the banks will lend money against the equity only. This type of loan is taken for the purpose of major home repairs or improvements, education expenses, wedding expenses, medical expenses etc.

Home Equity loan can be classified into two different types as, Traditional Home Equity Loan and Home Equity Line of Credit and these are also known as second mortgages, as they are safe by the security of property. These types of loans are returned in a short span of time than the first mortgage.

Traditional Home Equity Loan is also known as closed end home equity loan which means the money borrowed must be returned or repaid within a predetermined period. In this type, the interest will start to accumulate immediately after the money has been given. And at the time of closing a lump amount of money can be borrowed and will not be able to get further amount. The loan amount will be determined by analyzing the credit history, income and value of the collateral. For this type of loan they have a specific period say up to fifteen years.

Home Equity line of credit will offer the borrower a cheque book or a credit card which can be made used to borrow money against the home equity when and how often the concerned party requires the amount. Until a purchase is made against the equity the interest will not begin to accumulate. This type is also known as open end home equity loan. The period fixed generally to repay the loan is over thirty years at a varied interest rate.

Generally home equity loans have some specific fees and some of them are Evaluation fees, Inventor fees, Stamp Duties, Concluding fees, Arrangement fees, early pay-off, Surveyor or Conveyor or valuation. In some cases, some of them may be ignored. This can be increased or decreased if the concerned party has his personal surveyor to examine the property. The fees differ from loan to loan so that the parties concerned must have a clear picture in the beginning itself. This type of loan helps in tax savings because the interest paid against the home equity loan is tax-deductible.

In this option, you have to take the time because this is more and more difficult these days. As the lenders that are offering the bad credit loans are not so easy to find today than they were sometimes ago. Yes more and more sub-prime loan departments are closing their doors. The result is the development of bad credit services. So your first job is to check and recheck correctly and seriously the company before submitting any important information.

When everything seems and is correct, you will need the appraisal for your home. A professional service like this will cost you around $500. If you do not have this paper and this information then nobody will work with you. It’s a simple way to assess your financial situation. The next tip I can give you is to do your search online, you will have an access to a ton of valuable information. For example, with your home appraisal document you can surely and safely use a home equity loan calculator.

The next important point to consider when you are looking for a lender is to ask for an offer greater than 80% loan to value ratio on your home. This is the minimum and I do not recommend you to go further if it’s not the case. You know, you want to take the most of your situation. Here are the major problems that a lender will check to take his decision:

A bankruptcy is not very appreciated by lenders. In this situation, you will have to provide and show two years between the application and the filing of this bankruptcy. Plus they will check if you had made some efforts to re-establish your credit. Minor and smaller debts as hospital bills, slow payments or utilities are not a big deal for them. Anyway, if you can clear and disclose now this situation, you arrive in a good condition. And this is what you need to have. When the process begins and not at then end, you need to absolutely determine your closing costs. You do not want any bad surprises when everything is finalized.

I hope you have enjoyed my article to get more expert information about your home loan. This is the way to go to be on the right path. And remember the two important points you have learned today: get your new appraisal document and set early your closing costs.