Home Equity Lines of Credit, or HELOCs, are open-ended, revolving loans that allow future advances up to the approved credit limit. Much like credit cards, they offer cash when it is needed with flexible payment options during the draw period. The draw period of a Home Equity Line of Credit is the amount of time the line of credit is open for, usually ten years, after which the balance must be paid.

Advances taken out during this draw period may have small monthly payments in which only minimal amounts are paid toward the principle with the rest of the payment going to accrued interest, or interest only payments may be made. At the end of the draw period, many plans have balloon payments in which the monthly payments will drastically increase to cover the rest of the balance due or the entire balance may be due immediately. There are plans that offer repayment of the Home Equity Line of Credit loan over a fixed period of time after the draw period has ended.

Interest of Home Equity Lines of Credit is usually variable and tied to the Prime Lending Rate, the rate in which most major banks charge their largest and most credit worthy customers. These variable rates usually have a cap to limit how high of an interest rate can be charged and some have limits as to how low the interest rate can get. Variable rates are subject to quarterly adjustment though some plans offer a fixed interest rate. The interest paid on Home Equity Lines of Credit is only paid when the funds are used and is usually tax deductible.

Like Home Equity Loans, Home Equity Lines of Credit have fees that may be charged for taking out the loan. Some plans call for one-time; up front fees while others have annual fees. Plans that offer low monthly payments during the draw period may require a balloon payment at the end of the loan period requiring the entire remaining balance to be paid. Other fees can also apply such as appraisal fee, credit check fee, and closing costs. The Federal Truth in Lending Act protects the borrower by requiring the lender to inform the borrower of all costs and terms when the application is given.

California residence taking out a Home Equity Line of Credit have the option of whether or not to allow outside and affiliate companies to have access to their private financial information. Through the California Financial Information Privacy Act, the lender can only disclose financial information about California residences with other companies if it is mandatory in securing the loan. Any other use of the information is at the borrowers’ discretion.

The home equity line of credit is a device used by homeowners who want to borrow against the equity in their home. There are several different types of home equity lines of credit. These differences are frequently based on the interest rate charged the homeowner.

Sometimes a home equity line of credit will have variable interest rates. With variable interest rates, the homeowner cannot know for sure from month to month what the interest payment will be. The interest rate on the loan will vary to the same degree as the interest rate set by the Federal Reserve Board.

In some cases the home equity line of credit offers a low introductory interest rate. These rates sound attractive, but they hide the fact that the homeowner will later be asked to pay a considerably higher rate. The homeowner needs to read the loan materials carefully in order to learn exactly what the payments could be at a much later date.

Other differences in the home equity line of credit often concern the costs of the application process. Some offers of a home equity line of credit come with a large one-time fee. Other offers for a home equity line of credit might avoid mention of such a fee but then add continuing costs. It is also possible that a home equity line of credit could tack on a balloon payment. This is a sizable payment that is demanded from the homeowner once the period of the offer of credit has ended. Alternate offers for a home equity line of credit could avoid requesting a high balloon payment but instead request much higher monthly payments.

If the differences in the various types of home equity lines of credit confuse the homeowner, then it may be better to consider alternatives to the home equity line of credit. The homeowner who does not want to get a home equity line of credit can either takeout a second mortgage or borrow from credit lines that do not use the home as collateral.

In order to borrow from credit lines that do not use the home as collateral the homeowner needs to seek out those who value what he has to offer. Perhaps he owns land in a distant region where the land value is going up. This could possibly be used as collateral on a different type of line of credit. A small business owner who did not want to risk his home for a home equity line of credit might need to think about using the business as collateral.

Wells Fargo offers a revolving credit line for homeowners called Home Equity Lines of Credit, or HELOCs. This line of credit is an open-ended, revolving loan that allows future advances up to the approved credit limit. You can use the money for home improvements, debt consolidation, medical expenses, investment opportunities, starting a business, education, a new car or boat, or any other major expense. Since Wells Fargo’s Home Equity Lines of Credit are revolving loans, you can use only the money you need when you need it, much like credit cards.

This credit is available at any time during your draw period with convenient access through your Wells Fargo credit card, checking account, ATM, online banking, or local bank. The draw period of a Home Equity Line of Credit is the amount of time the line of credit is open, usually ten years, after which the line of credit is closed and repayment starts. Advances taken out during this draw period may have small monthly payments in which only minimal amounts are paid toward the principle with the rest of the payment going to accrued interest, or interest only payments may be made. Wells Fargo offers plans that allow repayment of the Home Equity Line of Credit loan over a fixed period of time after the draw period has ended. Some of these plans allow up to thirty years repayment time.

Interest of Wells Fargo Home Equity Lines of Credit is variable and tied to the Prime Lending Rate, the rate in which most major banks charge their largest and most credit worthy customers. This variable rate usually has a cap to limit how high of an interest rate can be charged and some have limits as to how low the interest rate can get. Variable rates are subject to quarterly adjustment though some plans offer a fixed interest rate. The interest paid on Wells Fargo Home Equity Lines of Credit is only paid on the funds that are used and is usually tax deductible.

Like Home Equity Loans, Home Equity Lines of Credit have fees that may be charged for taking out the loan. Some plans call for one-time; up front fees while others have annual fees. Plans that offer low monthly payments during the draw period may require a balloon payment at the end of the loan period requiring the entire remaining balance to be paid. Other fees can also apply such as appraisal fee, credit check fee, and closing costs. The Federal Truth in Lending Act protects the borrower by requiring the lender to inform the borrower of all costs and terms when the application is given.

Consolidating Debt – Refinance or 2nd Mortgage? – Homeowners who need to consolidate their high interest unsecured debts often wonder what is the best way of doing it. Is it best to refinance your first mortgage or take out a second mortgage or Home Equity Line of Credit?

Recent increases in the Prime Rate have made the Home Equity Lines of Credit much less attractive than they were a few years ago. Don’t use a home equity loan as a way to manage your outstanding debt. Instead, use it as a way to eliminate your debt entirely. Find a good mortgage broker that will show you how to use your monthly savings to pay off all of your debt, including your mortgage, in a much shorter period of time. In today’s rising rate environment, Home Equity Loans, Lines of Credit and other short term interest rate-linked forms of financing are increasingly risky liabilities to have on your creditand your home. Consider consolidating all of your revolving and secondary debts into a single loan.

Taking advantage of refinance programs which allow you to consolidate your debts and modify the rate and term of your first mortgage, such as adding a minimum payment option, can allow you to really boost your cashflow or focus your finances. We have had customers who were paying 2500 a month in mortgage + credit card & car payments drop down to making one minimum payment of 1100 dollars a month after debt consolidation refinancing. In the same situation, a second mortgage would have only reduced their total monthly spending to 2150 a month.

One thing to watch out for. Many home equity lines of credit will report on the borrower’s credit report as revolving debt rather than mortgage debt. This can often cause a substancial detriment to a borrower’s credit score.  Typically home equity lines of credit are reported as revolving debt if the loan amount is under $50,000.00 (check with your local lender guidelines). Most home equity lines of credit are also interest only payments that adjust on a monthly basis which may make things even more difficult for a homeowner over the long run.

In that case, refinancing your debts into one mortgage may make more sense than obtaining a high interest, fixed rate second mortgage or a home equity line of credit.

A good mortgage broker can work out a cost analysis breakdown for you to show you the pros and cons of refinancing your first mortgage to consolidate your debt versus taking out a second mortgage or home equity line of credit to consolidate your debt. One advantage of a home equity line of credit is that many times you can obtain one without any closing costs at all. In the right situations this can be very beneficial to a consumer instead of paying the closing costs on a first mortgage, especially if there is any chance of not keeping the loan very long or moving.

Often you can get a lower combined rate and a lower payment by refinancing your mortgage instead of getting a 2nd mortgage or a home equity line of credit. Your mortgage professional can make these calculations for you.

Consolidating debt with your first mortgage generally will improve your cash flow situation, particularly if you can lower your first mortgage a bit in the process. Using a mortgage refinance to consolidate your debt can be prudent because on interest mortgage debt is tax deductible. Consolidating your debt with non-deductible interest like credit cards or auto loans can lower your payments and increase your deductions.

You can consolidate your debt with a simple debt consolidation mortgage and make the payment tax deductable. And if you are wise, use that loan to manage and pay-off your mortgage in half the time. Consolidating Credit Card Debt into Your Mortgage – Some financial “gurus” have advised against this because you are turning unsecured debt into secured debt. While this is basically true the fact is that defaulted unsecured debt can be secured against real property very quickly once the debtor is sued for it and a judgment is received.
Consolidating credit car debt into your mortgage can save a homeowner hundreds and sometimes even thousands of dollars per month by lowering their total monthly obligations. When you consolidate credit cards into your mortgage you also are able to lower your interest rates on those credit cards which essentially saves you a lot of money but you are able to write off the interest on your tax returns from your mortgage and you can not do this with your credit cards.

If you want to use a refinance loan to consolidate some of your debts, you’re going to have to borrow more than the actual amount remaining on the loan that you’re refinancing. This additional amount will be used to pay off those debts that are being consolidated and will affect the monthly payment of your refinanced loan. By doing this, however, you can make your finances and outstanding debts much more manageable and will likely become debt-free much faster.

A mortgage agent can help you decide if refinancing credit card debt into a mortgage is your best option. Using financial calculators available, they can compare how long and how much it will cost you to pay off credit card debt using your current monthly payments vs refinancing the debt into a new mortgage. Very often the monthly and lifetime savings is large.

You can consolidate your credit card debt through use of your first mortgage or by obtaining a second mortgage or a home equity line of credit, also known as a HELOC. A HELOC works with the same basic principals of a credit card. It is a revolving account that as you pay the equity line down, you have that money available to you to use again. With a second mortgage you simply have a set term (5 years, 10 years, 15 years, etc…) that you will pay on the loan for and when it is paid off you are relinquished of your obligation to this debt and the account closes. All three (1st mortgage, 2nd mortgage or HELOC) are excellent choices for debt consolidation but you and your mortgager broker will need to figure out which one makes the most sense for your particular situation.

Remember not to stop making regular payments towards credit card debts simply because you are in the process of consolidating them. Defaults and late payments can negatively impact your credit and jeopardize the consolidation loan.In order to decide if a debt consolidation is your best action, you should figure what you are paying now and how that will translate in the length of time it will take you to pay off those credit cards. You may find that rolling those debts into your mortgage will save you thousands of dollars in interest payments.

If you have gotten buried in a hole with credit card debt it could be a necessity to refinance your home and pay off your credit card debt. It has been known to save thousands of dollars. On the other side of the spectrum, if you only have 5 months left on a credit card bill it is note wise decision to bury that into a mortgage. If you are planning on selling your home in the near future, you may want to rethink consolidating. You need to make sure that you have enough equity to pay for realtor’s commission and down payment or closing costs on the new home.

When deciding to refinance for debt consolidation you might want to consider how long you will have to pay your credit cards if you are only making the monthly minimums. This can take you much longer in most cases than paying on a traditional 30 year fixed mortgage. Another option if you do not have enough equity in your home to pay off your credit cards is to refinance to a pay option ARM. The money you can save by making minimum payments on your mortgage can be applied to your credit cards to help pay them down quicker.

During most refinances you will be able to skip a month, or two, of your mortgage payment. It would be a good idea to take some, or all, of that payment and apply it to your credit card debt. Remember, you have a three (business) day right of recission before you can receive the cash from your refinance.

If your decide to consolidate credit card debt in the state of Texas you must wait 12 days from the time of application to close on your cash out loan, also Texas Cash-Out loans are limited to an 80% LTV (Loan to Value). This law only applies to homestead properties and it may be different if the property is a second home or investment property.

If you refinance to pay off credit cards it is wise to have the limits on the credit cards lowered to avoid the same situation you are refinancing out of. Unless you have many cards open avoid closing the accounts. If they have been open for a long time closing them could negatively impact your credit.

If you are paying the minimum payment on your maxed out credit cards every month, it could take 15 to 22 years to pay off those cards. Consolidating credit cards with higher rates, such as 16%, 18% or 21%, into your refinanced mortgage with a rate of, say 6.25%, you could dramatically decrease your total monthly payments. The money you save every month could be used to pay off other credit cards or other loans quicker. At that point, the extra money you have every month could be paid to reduce the principal on your mortgage or you could refinance into a shorter term loan, say 15 years, at a lower rate and pay off your home much quicker.

If you do choose to consolidate your credit card debt, remember to bring your most recent balance statements with you to the closing (your mortgage consultant will advise). This way when the lender’s attorney is making out the checks to the creditors, the numbers will be exact. You should remember that the interest you pay with your mortgage is tax deductible, where the credit card’s interest payment is not. Consolidating your debt using your equity can save your money even more.

Although you are extending your debt by refinancing credit card debt into your mortgage, you generally will be increaing your cash flow so you are not going “backwards” each month.

Most financial gurus don’t recommend using the equity in your home to pay off unsecured debt because if you do that, you won’t need to buy their program. Think about it. They are in business to sell you software, subscriptions to their websites and books. The program they recommend deals with cutting back on spending and devoting yourself to getting out of debt in a long period of time. Sure it will work, but most people don’t have the discipline to not have cable, or not go out to eat for 6 years. The one key to getting out of debt is to put yourself in a position where you don’t have to use your credit cards. Once you stop spending on credit cards, the best way to pay them off is to consolidate them into the lowest monthly payment possible. From that point you need to take the savings and re-apply it towards your existing debt and your mortgage. If you do this, you could be debt free, including your mortgage, in a little as 5-7 years. I challange any financial guru to find a quicker way to be completely debt free.

If you want to see even greater savings on a monthly basis for a fixed period of time, ask us about using a minimum payment option loan to consolidate your debts. This can provide you with enough cash to pay off your debts while actually reducing your housing payment AND all of your monthly payments. Consolidating credit card debt into your mortgage can be prudent to lower your monthly payments. You gain the advantage of paying down mortgage debt that is tax deductible. However, if high credit card debt is an indication that you are spending beyond your means, you must address this issue to become financially sound.