What Is A Home Equity Credit Line

Can I sell a home with just a 1st mortgage, collect the equity and continue to pay on my Heloc as if it is a line of credit? or will I have to include it in my home sale (and possibly a short sale)?

The HELOC is secured by your home (read your loan documents). It likely has a due on transfer clause which means that if you transfer your ownership of the property, the loan becomes immediately due and payable. Typically that means you need to pay off the HELOC with proceeds from the sale (or you need to bring enough cash to settle it at closing).

Anyone with any sense would not buy the property with an outstanding lien for the HELOC, because if that is not paid, that lender could still foreclose (that lien would be senior to any sale or transfer you make now).

2009-12-10 18:36:53 by ben c

A home equity loan and a home equity line of credit both provide money from the value of your home. But each one has its pros and cons.

What is Home Equity Credit Line of Credit (HELOC), whst is the advantage and disadvantage of that?

A Home Equity Line of Credit is a line of credit based on the precentage of your home you have already paid for. For Ex. you have a loan for $100,000 and you have paid 30,000 of it off and owe $70,000 still. The equity would be the $30,000 that you own. YOu could then take line of credit out on the $30,000 that you own. HELOC interest rates are based on the prime rate on Wall Street posted each month, which means that it changes monthly. Prime right now is on the rise. Recently it has been at 7.75% for the last couple of months and now it is at 8%. The prime rate is then added to what is called the Margin. Your margin is based on you FICO(credit score). The better credit you have the better margin you will have. I have even seen negative margins on some loans. So for example lets say you have a 2% margin and then prime rate is 8%. Your HELOC would then have a 10% interest rate. This is pretty high, but lower than most peoples credit card interest rate. Let's say you have 10,000 in credit card debt and the average interest rate on the collection of cards is 22%. It would be a good decision to take out a HELOC and then use that money to pay off your debt on the credit cards. You would save because of the interest rate. HELOC's have a cap rate of 18% so that would still be lower than the 22%. Unfortunately the down side of this is that the interest rate changes monthly, as well as the payment amount. There are all different kinds of HELOC/2nd mortgages you can get. Some are No Cost HELOC's and don't require you to pay closing costs, but the fine print says you cannot pay the loan off or refinance within a certain time period. Also watch out for prepayment penalties or termination fees. These usually only last for 6 months, but make sure read all the fine print! Also sometimes there is an account maintenance fee that is waived only if you never make a late payment within the first year. If you do miss a payment in the first year you end up paying a maintenance fee yearly for the life of the loan, after the first year you don't have to worry about being late except paying the late charge. You really should try a fixed rate 2nd mortgage right now instead of a HELOC since interest rates are on the rise.

2006-06-03 00:53:45 by Ricky Mo

Line of credit currently at $60,000, but want to increase to $150,000 just in case I ever need it. If I never really use it, does it still affect my credit rating?

If you don't use the loan and manage your money, I think the increased amount can work against you. The credit companies measure your income/or worth against the total credit you are carrying. If you are carrying more credit than you can afford, you are a higher risk. If, on the other hand, you have plenty of income to handle such a high loan, it probably will have no affect until you use it.

2007-10-11 13:26:58 by DRESS

Price: $24.99

Would a Home Equity Line of Credit or loan used to buy a home be considered a Home Aquisition Debt instead of a Home Equity Debt?

For HELO interest on principal beyond $100k to be deductible, the proceeds must be plowed back into the property pledged as security. If it's used for any other purpose, the interest on the amount of the loan over $100k is non-deductible. To be considered as acquisition debt, the property acquired must be the security for the loan.

2008-05-31 01:18:06 by Evan

I want to open a home equity line of credit. I have 100% equity in my house and an excellent credit rating. I am planning on moving, but would like to buy another house first, and then sell my current house (which would sell for a higher price than the one I would buy).

If I use the equity line to buy a house, would the bank permit me to sell my current house and pay them off at the closing? Kind of a bridge loan without the fees.

I agree with Ibu Guru, I think you are making a big mistake, do not use a loan to get another loan, payoff the first house and save to purchase another, remember that the people who are being foreclosed are those that have mortgages.

2009-02-26 08:44:20 by lamontnow