The Equity Of Your House
As the interest rate on credit cards & other loans continues to increase, lots of people have turned to home equity loans as a method of borrowing funds at a low interest rate. The equity of your house is the difference between the value of your house at any given time & the amount of funds you owe on the total balance. A home equity loan is a great tool for consolidating high interest loans & credit cards.
Compare this to the rate of your credit card. Home equity loans have interest rates that are up to 60% lower, but the amount of savings will differ from person to person. Also consider that the first $100,000 of a home equity loan is tax deductible, while credit card loans are not. If you are used to the convenience and flexible payments of credit cards, home equity loans can be just as flexible and offer revolving credit. With these benefits, most homeowners will find a home equity loan to be superior to carrying credit card debt.
Security & Equity Are Required Who Will Lend To Me? Unlike lots of other loans & credit cards, home equity loans are secured. This means that your house is used as collateral. For example, if your house if worth $300,000 & you have paid off $50,000, you still owe $250,000. However, if the value of the house has increased from $300,000 to $350,000, you have $100,000 of equity. You can borrow funds against this $100,000 by using a home equity loan. Simultaneously, it is important to remember that if you default on your payments, your home could be taken as collateral to cover the losses of the bank or mortgage company.
What Are My Lending Options? Home equity loans are not often denied by banks and mortgage companies. The finance industry understands that you take your home ownership very seriously, and expect that making your payments will therefore be a priority for you. For a lender, a home equity loan is very low risk. They are always looking to lend to responsible homeowners, who are likely to also have a good credit history.
Another common use for home equity loans is higher education. As the cost of education continues to rise, it will become harder for lots of families to send their babies to school. Lots of parents pick to use a home equity loan to invest in the education of their babies. Despite this, lots of federal student loans have low interest rates as well, & parents will need to weigh all their options carefully before making a decision. Home equity loans which are used for education have lots of tax benefits.
Lots of people pick to use home equity loans for remodeling their kitchens or bathrooms. Remodeling a part of your house is a great way to increase its value. It is also easy to get approved for loans which you plan on using for remodeling your home. They tend to have low interest rates, & the amount you pick to borrow should be dictated by how you plan to remodel the home.
My Mom Used To Say, ?Prevention Is Better Than Cure? Because lots of Americans don’t have health insurance, using equity loans in the event of an illness or injury is a great way to avoid debt. It is become much more difficult for people to file bankruptcy, & because of this it won’t be easy to get out of a situation in which you have an unexpected illness. An equity loan could protect you in a situation where you have high medical bills with no health insurance. As the cost of health care continues to increase, having an equity loan or line of credit can greatly help you.
Graham McKenzie is the content coordinator for a leading South African leading Homeloan and Bond Origination portal which provides access to Standard Bank Homeloan.