Saturday, January 16, 2010

HELOC And Mortgage Rates In This Economy

By Adriana Noton

HELOC is one method to resort to if you own your home and you need money for a large expense like your child's education tuition bill. This is a way to borrow money when you otherwise would not be able to use your credit card. But it is a variable interest rate loan that would be relative to the mortgage rates you would see in the prime market.

You will have to submit a credit report and also bank statements and all that goes into the loan process. But it is really dependent on your home equity. Your loan will be for a percentage of what you have in your home equity. This is the difference of the market value of your home compared with what you owe the lender who holds the note on your home.

This is the amount you will apply for with a home equity loan. The collateral of course is your property. Keep in mind of the mortgage rates - if you fail to make the payments then the land will be foreclosed on. The first lender will get paid first and then the people who hold the note on the home equity loan.

The home equity deal works as a line of credit does. You only pay what you take out on the loan. You do not have to take the full amount of the loan out at any time.

The interest rate you pay will be based on the prime market value at the time. This rate may be different than the current GIC rates, but it will be a variable interest rate. So you are taking a risk that the interest rates will stay low but they might shoot up also. One advantage this type of loan has over the basic credit card is that you can write off the interest on your income tax.

This is one reason some find it to their advantage to take out this type of loan verses using their credit cards. Some might be surprised to know that there was a time when people could deduct interest paid on credit cards from their income tax liability.

So if you are looking at a home equity line of credit you need to make sure you have a secure job. You definitely want to have at least six months of income liquid to pay your bills in case you lose your job or some other emergency occurs. You want to make sure you are counting the costs of such a loan. You will want to make sure the reason you are taking the loan is important enough to cover all the planning you will have to do.

You are not thinking the worse of course at this point. But you certainly want to make sure you are prepared for the worse case scenario. If you are then a HELOC may be your answer to your financial requirements. Shop around for the best deal. If friends or relatives have recently taken out this type of loan ask them to recommend to you what they learned through their search of the best deal they could find. - 29904

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