Home Equity Line Of Credit Explained
For better understanding, start reading here: home equity line of credit is, as its name obviously implies, is a line of credit. What that means is that it works very much similar to a credit card, only that it's tied in with the equity (the assessed value of your shack or whatever place your living at) of your home. You'll be given a debit card and checks in order to have access to the money you intend to borrow. You could use the money for whatever purpose you intend for, like paying the bills or financing your child's education. You may even use it for paying off debts through debt consolidation or whatever solution you had in mind.
The key advantage here is that the interest rates that have placed on the cash you borrow is lower than the other types of unsecured credit cards, mainly coz the lenders have your house as collateral. That also brings up the advantage of being granted a longer payback period of whatever you borrow, as well as a larger line of credit. Last benefit to be reaped is this: the interest paid here is deductible from your federal income tax. That does all sound too good to be true, so before you get worked up excessively, it's time to talk about the key disadvantages.
Here's the biggest: as I've said earlier, you put your house up as collateral, what that means is that you face the possibility of losing it to your creditors for failure to comply with the agreements that took place between you to. Main cause would be the incapability to pay off what you owe, or falling behind one too many payments. Ultimately, you can end up a homeless bum, with no place to go or stay, unless you've got parents that are willing to take you back. I wish I could say that the scenario was a joke or impossible, but it could still happen to anybody, why? The inner compulsive buyer - there's one inside each and every individual everywhere.
And giving him a home equity line of credit at his disposal can mean trouble for you, friend. Having easy access to the funds can be dangerous, so it's best you keep a leash on that animal. Before you even think of availing the said service, it'd be wise to think things over, and spend for only what you really need.