Financing With A Home Equity Loan

Tip! Reverse Mortgage - Retirees remaining in their homes can still tap their home equity as a source of retirement income. An entire industry has grown up around the 'reverse mortgage' concept which allows seniors over 62 to tap into their home's value without making any repayments during their lifetime.

If you have good credit, a homeowner, your mortgage is paid on time every month and you are thinking about borrowing money, the home equity route may be the way to go. What this allows is suppose your home is worth substantially more than your current mortgage, for example, your mortgage is for Ł100,000 but your home is worth Ł200,000, you will have an equity of Ł100,000 in the value of your home that you can borrow against.

A home equity loan can be used for many purposes:

Paying off other debts;

Taking a holiday;

Paying for university;

The loan is secured over your home, and therefore, the interest rate will generally be lower than for other types of credit that may be available. This makes them a good option for paying off higher interest debts, so long as you don't rack them up again, or taking on a larger project such as a house extension. It is often a good idea to use a home equity loan to renovate your house, as the house value increases as a result, and often by more than what you pay to renovate it. You can also receive a tax credit on the interest paid on the loan.

However, it must be remembered that such loans are not appropriate for everybody in every situation. They should generally only be used for large projects of long term needs. For smaller loans, it may be better to look at other options such as personal loans. The rate and terms, as with all loans, will vary depending on your payment history and the amount and length of the loan.

The loan can be offered as a lump sum or as a credit line. The lump sum gives you the whole amount of the loan all at once and interest is payable on it immediately. With a credit line, you only use the money as needed, up to an agreed maximum, and interest only accrues on the amount you use.

Tip! There are two types oh home equity loans, the home equity and the home equity line of credit. Conversely, home equity line of credit allows you to borrow money as you need it and pay the interest on the outstanding amount.

You should always carefully review your finances before taking on more debt, especially if it is to be secured on your home. Using your home as security means that if repayments aren't made on the loan, you could lose your house. It is therefore important that you are comfortable with the amount you are borrowing. You should also look at the differences in costs between a lump sum and a line of credit and decide carefully which one better suits your needs.

Joseph Kenny writes for the loan comparison sites, http://www.ukpersonalloanstore.co.uk and also http://www.selectloans.co.uk. The latest loans are reviewed in detail at the Loan Store.

Home Equity News:

Live Search: home equity site:msnbc.msn.com
Search results

Home equity loans drying up for some - Personal finance- msnbc.com
Some homeowners are finding that even with great credit and 20 percent or more home equity, getting a line of credit on that equity can be difficult or impossible.
Use of home equity hits a four-year low - Real estate- msnbc.com
The amount of money Americans pulled out of their homes is at a four-year low as homeowners battle falling home values and stricter standards among lenders, Freddie Mac said ...
Late payments for home equity loans rise - Real estate- msnbc.com
Late payments on home equity loans climbed to a 1˝-year high in the opening quarter of this year, while delinquencies on credit card bills fell, painting a mixed picture of how ...
Equity in Americans? homes falls to historic low - Mortgage Mess ...
And homeowners? percentage of equity has declined steadily even as home values surged during the housing boom due to a jump in cash-out refinancing, home equity loans and an ...
Late payments rise on home-equity loans - Stocks & economy- msnbc.com
Late payments on certain auto and home equity loans climbed in the final quarter of last year, while delinquencies on credit card bills largely held steady, suggesting some U.S ...
Retirees no longer count on home equity - Cracked Nest Egg- msnbc.com
Many Americans have recently found themselves changing retirement plans after losing a substantial amount of home equity as the housing market and the overall U.S. economy struggle
Should I get a home equity credit line? - Answer desk- msnbc.com
Am I married or not? It sounds simple enough. But in the lastest installment of video Answer Desk, msnbc.com's John W. Schoen explains why some couples may be unsure of their ...
How to tell if now is the time to refinance - Personal finance- msnbc ...
You have at least 10 percent equity in your home and aren?t FHA-eligible. To get good rates, you?ll need to have equity in the home. In most markets, 10 percent equity is a ...
Retirement Calculator - Cracked Nest Egg - MSNBC.com
See today's average home equity rates across the country.
Homebuyers looking nationwide to invest - Real estate- msnbc.com
Many of the new investors got into the market after watching their stock portfolios stall as their home equity soared. These days, they?re turning to friends, seminars and real ...

Newsfeed display by CaRP