Home equity loans allow you to take cash out of your home. "Home equity" is defined as, how much your home is worth minus how much you still have on your mortgage loan. For example, if your home is worth $150,000 and your current mortgage loan balance is $100,000, this means that you have equity of $50,000. You can use your home equity loan to pay off credit card bills, pay for education or to finance home improvement projects.

The fact is, almost every city in America has seen strong appreciations in home values. Cities in states like Nevada, California, Florida, etc, have seen appreciations of up to 200%. Home values have literally doubled.

If you are thinking about getting a home equity loan, there are a few things that you need to understand.

Using the example above, you would get a check in a lump sum for $50,000. This loan would be repayable in monthly installments.

Your loan would be secured against your home. This means that you are pledging your home as collateral. If you are consistent in making your mortgage payments and you are financially balanced, this should not cause you any worries. Pay your monthly balance, as you would with any loan (e.g. mortgage loan, car loan, etc) and you'll be fine.

Shop around for the best interest rates. Varying lenders can offer substantially different interest rates. Low interest rates, mean lower monthly payments.

The interest payments on your home equity loan will be tax deductible so remember to factor them into your tax preparation, come April 15.

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Sharon Listner writes about finance. Visit her website: http://www.kstreetloans.com for informative articles about home equity loans, debt consolidation loans and home improvement loans.