A home equity loan is a secured loan that is taken out against a house. If you are a homeowner, you can get a homeowner’s loan. The biggest advantage of a homeowner’s loan is that it carries a low rate of interest because it is secured against a property. A home equity loan can help you release the equity tied up in your house. Home equity is the present value of your house minus the unpaid mortgage balance. A home equity loan is taken out when the house is already mortgaged. Suppose your house is mortgaged up to 80% of its total value, you can take out a home equity loan to release the remaining 20% of the home equity.

Home equity loans are of two types– fixed rate loans and lines of credit.

Fixed Rate Loans
In case of a fixed rate loan, the borrower gets the entire loan
amount at once and has to pay interest on the entire loan amount.

Home Equity Line of Credit In case of home equity line of credit, the lender allows you to borrow money up to a certain limit. You do not have to borrow the entire amount at once and have the freedom to borrow as per your requirements. Thus, you do not have to pay interest on the entire amount.

A home equity loan is a convenient way of consolidating your debt. Since it is a secured loan, its rate of interest will be much lower than the rate on your existing personal loans and credit car dues. The interest that you pay on a home equity loan is tax deductible. Since the loan periods of home equity loans are longer than the loan periods of unsecured personal loans, the amount of monthly payments is also small. This is another benefit of debt consolidation using a home equity loan.

You have to be very careful while taking out a home equity loan. Once you have repaid all of your outstanding loans and credit card dues, you will be tempted to borrow some more money against your house. The amount of your home equity loan may exceed the entire value of your house. The amount of loan that exceeds the value of your house will be considered as an unsecured loan and will attract a high rate of interest. Therefore, when you take out a home equity loan, make sure that it does not exceed the total value of your house.

About the Author: The author is a business writer specializing in finance and credit products and has written authoritative articles on the finance industry. He has done his masters in Business Administration and is currently assisting Chance4finance as a finance specialist.

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