Home equity loans and HELOCs are two of the most common ways homeowners tap into their equity without refinancing. Both allow you to borrow against your home equity, just in slightly different ways. With a home equity loan, you get a lump-sum payment and then repay the loan monthly over time.
Risk of losing your home.
Home equity debt is secured by your home, so if you fail to make payments, your lender can foreclose on your home. If housing values drop, you could also wind up owing more on your home than it's worth. That can make it more difficult to sell your home if you need to.
A home equity loan could be a good idea if you use the funds to make improvements on your home or consolidate debt with a lower interest rate. However, a home equity loan is a bad idea if it will overburden your finances or if it only serves to shift debt around.
Home equity loans, home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), and cash-out refinancing are the main ways to unlock home equity. Tapping your equity allows you to access needed funds without having to sell your home or take out a higher-interest personal loan.
Home Equity Loan
You can borrow 80 to 85 percent of your home's appraised value, minus what you owe. Closing costs for a home equity loan typically run 2 to 5 percent of the loan amount—that's $5,000 to $12,000 on a $250,000 loan.
For a $150,000, 30-year mortgage with a 4% rate, your basic monthly payment — meaning just principal and interest — should come to $716.12.
Loan payment example: on a $50,000 loan for 120 months at 6.10% interest rate, monthly payments would be $557.62.
A home equity line of credit, also known as a HELOC, is one of the best ways to access equity in your home without selling it. Instead of taking out a loan at a fixed amount, a HELOC opens a pool of money that you can utilize, but you don't have to take it all at once or use it all.
The entire home equity loan process takes anywhere from two weeks to two months. A few factors influence the timeline—some in and some out of your control: How well you're prepared. Your lender will want to see copies of your current mortgage statement, property tax bill, and proof of income.
How long do you have to repay a home equity loan? You'll make fixed monthly payments until the loan is paid off. Most terms range from five to 20 years, but you can take as long as 30 years to pay back a home equity loan.
To determine how much you may be able to borrow with a home equity loan, divide your mortgage's outstanding balance by the current home value. This is your LTV. Depending on your financial history, lenders generally want to see an LTV of 80% or less, which means your home equity is 20% or more.
Can I use equity release if I'm under 55? Equity release – the process of cashing in some of the value of your home – is usually available only to those aged 55 or over. However, there may be other options for you to borrow money against the value of your home, without using full equity release products.
A favorable credit score is essential to meet most banks' approval requirements. A credit score above 700 will most likely qualify you for a loan as long as you also meet equity requirements. Homeowners with credit scores of 621 to 699 might also be approved.
If you are able to afford only a fixed amount every month to pay off debt, taking out a home equity loan to pay down your loan balances can help you settle debt more quickly. A lower interest rate means that a greater portion of your monthly payment each month goes toward paying down the principal.
Can you use a home equity loan to make a down payment on a home? Yes, if you have enough equity in your current home, you can use the money from a home equity loan to make a down payment on another home—or even buy another home outright without a mortgage.
Profit share refers to the portion of a company's income that goes to its owner and investors. Equity share pertains to the size of ownership interest held by an investor or business owner.
Decreasing any additional charges to your line and increasing monthly payments are an effective strategy for paying off the outstanding balance in a shorter time period. Use this calculator to find out how long it will take to pay off your home equity loan or line of credit.
With a loan amount of $30,000, an interest rate of 8%, and a loan repayment period of 60-months, your monthly payment is around $700.
As long as there are no explicit mentions of penalties for early payoff, you are free to pay extra on your loan until it is paid off.
The most obvious alternative to equity release is to downsize – i.e. sell your current home and move into a smaller property (or at least one that is less expensive).
Can you be rejected for equity release plans? You can be rejected for equity release if you have CCJs on your credit file, but there are more common reasons why people get rejected for a lifetime mortgage. You are more likely to get rejected for equity release if there are issues with the property.
While the average closing costs for a home equity loan or line of credit may be lower than the closing costs of a standard mortgage, it can range between 2 percent to 5 percent of the total loan amount.