Home Equity Loan To Your Advantage

Home equity loans are generally rather convenient, but you need to approach getting one very carefully. It is important to find a home equity loan that not only makes it possible for you to get the cash that you need, but one that has the terms that will work to your best advantage. You are borrowing against the equity you have in your home when you get a home equity loan. In effect, a home equity loan is like having a second mortgage. For this reason, the interest rates are usually better than with many other types of loans.

For many people, a home equity loan is a helpful financial planning tool. There are many reasons why people get a home equity loan. A common purpose in applying for one is to consolidate existing debts, which may be furniture debts, clothing debts, or all kinds of credit card debts. Another common reason for having a home equity loan is to get money to make home improvements. Other reasons include having money for taking a vacation, buying a car, helping with college tuition, and paying medical expenses.

There are other ways you can get the money to do many of the things that you want to do. You could take out a separate loan for each expense as it comes up. This, of course, would mean separate loans with separate payments, and it could also mean separate loan origination charges. You could also borrow the money up front, perhaps $10,000, and put it into savings until you need it, and start paying interest on it immediately. However, the interest you make on it while it is in your saving account, or even in a CD, won't cover the interest you're paying on the loan.

A very important reason many people like a home equity loan is the fact that the interest may be written off on their federal income taxes. This is something that can't be done with many other kinds of loans. To find out your own tax situation, be sure to consult with your accountant or tax adviser. Do not wait until you are filing your federal income taxes to find out. That will be too late.

People also prefer a home equity loan because of the often fairly low interest rate. This can certainly make home equity loans quite attractive. A very important thing for you to do if you are interested in getting a home equity loan, is to do comparison shopping. Contact a number of lenders in your area to see what kind of deal you can get. How long will the home equity loan last, and what will the interest rates be? Weigh this information carefully. Both the length of the loan and the interest rate will have a major impact on how much the loan will ultimately cost you.

People definitely need to be very cautious not to overextend themselves when they are getting a home equity loan. Any home equity loan that you get will place you in danger of losing your home if you should fall behind in the payments. Always be sure that you can make the payments before you sign the loan papers. Probably one of the greatest pitfalls to avoid is getting a home equity loan to pay off your delinquent credit card debt. If you can't make your credit card payments, there is a pretty good chance that you won't be able to make your home equity payments. You are likely to end up simply exchanging one problematic debt loan for another, while putting your house in jeopardy.

The temptation to get into debt, and to borrow even more, is great, especially when you have all that "unused equity" in your home to draw on. However, the main fact is that your home would cover all your debts--as long as it doesn't go down in value and you are forced to move for one reason or another. Therefore, you need to remain aware of the fact that it is possible to get into serious problems with a home equity loan. If you keep this in mind, the chances are that you can take advantage of the equity in your home and the tax advantages that may be yours by having a home equity loan. Just remember that your home equity loan should meet your specific needs and have terms that work to your best advantage.

Nr.: 18228, Date: 9/7/2006

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