Appreciation rates for real estate have been phenomenal in many parts of the country for the last five years. This creation of massive amounts of equity has lead to interest in home equity loans.
Home Equity Lines of Credit Be Careful
A home equity line of credit provides a homeowner with the liquid equivalent of a hard asset. Real estate has returned excellent rates of appreciation recently. This means the value of homes has risen, creating new wealth for homeowners. The problem, of course, is the wealth is locked into the home and difficult to use. After all, you cannot use a door to pay the bills. To answer this dilemma, lenders have come up with home equity lines of credit.
A home equity line of credit is exactly what it claims to be. Programs vary, but a lender essentially issues you a credit line roughly equal to the equity you have in your home. If you have $100,000 in equity, you get a $100,000 line you can write checks off of and so on. On top of this, the equity line is usually issued with very reasonable interest rates at or just above traditional mortgages. Throw in the ability to claim a tax deduction on the interest paid, and the popularity...