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Home Equity Loans - A Big Benefit Or A Big Mistake?

When the bills are piling up and there doesn't seem to be any way out, a home equity loan can seem like the answer to your prayers. Home equity loans can also be a great way to jumpstart a business or investment portfolio. However it's important to realise that in some circumstances, a home equity loan may in fact make your life a whole lot worse.

A home equity loan is like a second mortgage on your home. If your home is currently worth $130,000, and you have a mortgage against it for $70,000, then you have $60,000 of equity available. Some home equity loans may allow you to borrow up to 80% of your home's value, others may go higher in special circumstances. In this example, you would be able to borrow another $34,000 as a home equity loan and still have only borrowed 80%.

Before making the decision to borrow more, though, it's important to sit down and really think about what you're doing. Firstly, and most importantly, why do you want the money? This is a really crucial part of your decision making. Many people use a home equity loan to fund necessary repairs to their home, or make improvements and so improve their home's value. In that situation, a home equity loan is a great idea, as the extra borrowings will most likely be offset by the increase in your home's value - as long as you can afford the extra repayments.

Borrowing to fund a business may also be a good use of home equity loan funds. It's important, though, not to put your money into a business without any track record, because you may well be throwing it away. Also, never use a home equity loan to try and resurrect a business that's losing money rapidly. You'll just end up with a bigger mortgage payment headache and nothing else. But if you have a business that is thriving and desperately needs some funds to expand, a home equity loan may well be the solution if banks aren't interested in giving you standard business finance.

Investing is another possible use of your home equity loan funds. Again, it's important to think carefully about what you plan to invest in. You could use the home equity loan as a deposit on an investment property. Or you could use it to be good quality shares. You may well regret it, though, if you buy the latest hot tip speculative share! Choose carefully and wisely, and a home equity loan can be a great way to start your investment portfolio.

Debt consolidation is another popular reason for taking out a home equity loan, and can be beneficial, but only if done wisely. There's no point increasing the debt on your home to clear your credit card debt, only to turn around and spend, spend, spend until all your cards are at their limits again. You need to close all of the cards as soon as they're paid off, or only keep one with a small limit for necessary purchases.

There are other reasons for a home equity loan which can make it a useful source of funds, but in these situations it's really important to be sure that you have no other options, and you can afford the repayments. These may include educational expenses, unexpected medical expenses or a family emergency.

There's also one reason that is very rarely a good reason to put your family home in further debt - big ticket items. Maybe it will feel really good to have that long vacation, or buy that expensive television and furniture, but ask yourself if it's really necessary or important. If spending the money on unnecessary things means that somewhere down the track you lose your home, you'll have paid for those things with a lot more than money.

If you think carefully about a home equity loan, and assess your reasons for borrowing more against the family home logically rather than emotionally, then you will be able to make a sensible choice. A final thought - always assess your ability to repay the loan based on reality and perhaps even "worst case scenario" values, rather than optimistic estimates of overtime at work or a promotion. That way you'll be able to make the payments and enjoy your family home for many more years to come.

Copyright Felicity Walker 2005

Investing and finance are two passions of the author. To find out more, check out http://www.homeequityloanzonecentral.com for more information.

MORE RESOURCES

Housing Wire

Obama pressures Congress on mortgage refinance program Fox News WASHINGTON – President Obama is rallying support for his plan to expand government assistance to homeowners, pressuring Congress to help lower lending rates for millions of strapped homeowners. Obama, in his radio and Internet address Saturday, ... President Obama's Mortgage Refinance Plan Just a Bid for VotesYahoo! Contributors Network Obama Unveils Mortgage Refinance EndeavorsMortgageorb New Obama mortgage refinance plan to near $10 billionHousing Wire Go Banking Rates -CBS Moneywatch -MarketWatch all 1,239 news articles »

MonitorBankRates.com

Mortgage Refinance Rates: 15 Year Refinance Mortgage Rates at 3.29% MonitorBankRates.com Mortgage refinance rates on 30 year conforming home loans are averaging 3.98%, unchanged from yesterday's average 30 year mortgage refinance rate. Mortgage refinance rates today on 15 year home mortgage loans are averaging 3.29%, down from yesterday's ... and more »

Fox News

Obama Proposes Mortgage-Refinance Plan Wall Street Journal By NICK TIMIRAOS President Barack Obama called on Congress during Tuesday's State of the Union address to approve new legislation that would give all homeowners who are current on their mortgages the opportunity to refinance at record low mortgage ... Obama proposes mortgage refinance programPolitico (blog) Will Obama's Mortgage Refinance Plan Be D.O.A.?U.S. News & World Report Obama proposes new mortgage refinance programHousing Wire Daily Caller all 314 news articles »

International Business Times

FOX 11 News Discussion: State of the Union MyFox Los Angeles And he aimed a pitch at homeowners, announcing a new mortgage refinance program with "historically low interest rates" that "gives every responsible homeowner the chance to save about $3000 a year on their mortgage." He added, "A small fee on the ... Winning Words, But Not a WinnerU.S. News & World Report Obama State of the Union 2012: Mortgage Refinance Changes Face ObstaclesInternational Business Times all 12,250 news articles »

CBS Local

Six Questions on Obama's Mortgage Refinance Proposal Wall Street Journal (blog) By Nick Timiraos President Barack Obama said Tuesday night in his State of the Union address that he would send a plan to Congress to allow all homeowners who are current on their mortgages to refinance. Here's a quick look at the proposal: How is this ... Obama plan could help refinance Bay Area mortgagesSan Francisco Chronicle all 19 news articles »

Anchor Bancorp Wisconsin Inc. Announces Third Quarter Results MarketWatch (press release) Revenues in the quarter ending September 30, 2011, were unfavorably impacted by a $5.1 million impairment charge on the capitalized mortgage servicing rights asset due to lower interest rates and the resultant mortgage refinance activity. and more »

KOMO News

Living large? Get the best rate on your jumbo mortgage refinance NASDAQ If you buy apparel from "big and tall" clothing stores, you're used to paying more and having less to choose from. "Regular guys," on the other hand, benefit from a wider selection of products and more competition between retailers. Mortgage Interest Rates Move Higher: 15 Year Mortgage Interest Rates at 3.34%MonitorBankRates.com all 113 news articles »

AgedLeadStore.com to Add 1100000 Aged Mortgage Refinance Leads Middle East North Africa Financial Network COM, January 26, 2012 ) Baltimore, MD AgedLeadStore.com is increasing its value for its customers by adding 1.1 million aged Mortgage Refinance Leads in February. This is important as many people depend upon their ability to refinance to make progress ...

High Volume Stock Movers: Bank of America, Sprint, Cisco, Annaly, Sirius Feb. 8th Wall St. Cheat Sheet By Derek Hoffman Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC): The US's Home Affordable Refinance Program has increased mortgage refinance applications and strained capacity at Bank of America, leading the bank to ask some customers to wait 60 to 90 days, ...

New HARP Could Help Up to 6.7 Million NASDAQ Other changes to the program were designed to make it easier for homeowners with private mortgage insurance (PMI) to refinance or to obtain a HARP mortgage refinance with a lender other than their current mortgage servicer. In addition, new limits were ... and more »

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