One of the benefits of owning a home is that as you pay your mortgage down, you begin to build equity. Equity is that tidy little sum that your home holds in trust for you, like a big wooden piggy bank, catching both paid-down principal and value from increasing real estate market values and inflation.
Instead of smashing through the pantry door to access it, though, you simply need to contact a banker about a home equity loan.
Read MoreA Home Equity Line of Credit, also known as a HELOC, allows you to use the value you’ve built up in your home in order to secure a revolving line of credit. Individuals and families often use a HELOC to pay for serious expenses (like healthcare or college tuition) or to consolidate high-interest loans (like credit card debt).
Read MoreHome equity loans, which are sometimes known as second mortgages, allow homeowners to take out a loan against the equity in their home. Home equity loans are divided into two types. The first is a home equity loan, which is a traditional, fixed rate loan. The other is a home equity line of credit (HELOC). Since one of our other FAQs addresses the details about HELOCs, in this one, we’ll stick to talking about regular home equity loans.
Read MoreIn basic terms, home equity is the amount of financial value that a homeowner has built up in their home. To discover how much home equity you have, take your property’s market value and subtract your outstanding loan balance. As you pay off your mortgage (or your home’s value increases), the amount of home equity you have increases.
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