The Pro's And Con's Of A Home Equity Line Of Credit

Do you own the house you are living in? If you do, your home might be your greatest asset. But if you have unfortunately agreed to a loan that is based upon the equity you have in your home, you could be taking a chance with your most precious asset.

Homeowners, particularly minorities and the elderly or anyone with poor credit should be very careful in borrowing money based on their home equity. This is because there are exploitative and abusive lenders that target and take advantage of these type of borrowers. This may put their homes at risk. There are certain things you need to understand in taking care of your credit, and hopefully protect you from exploitations.

Never agree to a home equity loan if you know that you don't have enough income to make the payments. You must think of this in advance so that you are sure you'll be able to meet your bills and the payments for the equity line.

Check all documents that have been handed to you and make sure that you don't sign anything you haven't read or understood. Some lenders and borrowers use this style in order to take advantage of clients, especially those who are not very familiar with written contracts and agreement terms. Make sure that you have understood all the terms and conditions. Don't sign anything until you do.

If your lender or anyone pressures you to sign, that is usually a clue that something strange is going on. Another thing you should avoid in these types of loans is one that comes with products that you will not need.

You should ask particularly if the credit insurance is requisite to a condition of the loan. If you find out that it isn't, and the charge is included in your loan but you want to remove it, you can ask the charge to be detached from your loan documents so that it will not add to your bills. If you think you need additional security, go and look around for the best rates.

You must keep the records carefully, including everything you've paid, all the billing statements and cancelled checks. If you notice that some of the charges are inaccurate, speak up and have it changed.

You also need to check the contractor's references to find out the time the work should have been completed. You should get more than an estimate just to make sure everything falls in place.

Again, you should read all the items very carefully and if you need an explanation of the terms and conditions that are not clear to you, stop and ask. You can talk to someone that you can trust and see if he or she can make sense of it for you. Another good resource is an attorney or a knowledgeable member of the family.

Stu Pearson has an interest in Finance related topics. To access more information on home equity line of credit or on business lines of credit, please click on the links.

 

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Like many homeowners during the housing boom, Lynnette Madden and her husband decided to open a home equity line of credit about a year and a half ago as ...
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WASHINGTON ? Falling U.S. home prices have shrunk equity so much that the proportion of their homes that Americans actually own is near its lowest point ...
Home equity lines have dried up across U.S. - Business - Personal ...
Home equity lines have dried up across U.S. As home prices collapse, banks cut off credit, further souring the economy Below:
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WASHINGTON ? Late payments on home equity loans climbed to a 1½-year high in the opening quarter of this year, while delinquencies on credit card bills ...
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Many Americans have recently found themselves changing retirement plans after losing a substantial amount of home equity as the housing market and the ...
Equity in Americans? homes falls to historic low - Business ...
NEW YORK ? The equity Americans have in their most important asset ? their homes ? has dropped to its lowest level since the end of World War II ...
Students get creative to pay off loans - Business - Personal ...
Lines of credit typically work like a credit card, with a limit and a revolving balance: the average home-equity line of credit currently has an interest rate ...
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Use of home equity hits a four-year low Freddie Mac report cites falling residence values, stricter lending standards Below:
Ford, Toyota are pinning their hopes on China - Business - Autos ...
NEW YORK ? Ford Motor Co. plans to build a new assembly plant in China ... $30K home equity loan FICO: 5.75%
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These stem from lost tax revenue and jobs as well as slower consumer spending that come with home equity declines, and don?t even include the financial toll ...

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