http://www.loanmetender.net/loan/home-equity-loan.html The home equity loan provides access to cash in the form of a loan, secured by the equity (what your house is worth less what you owe on it) in your home, at a low interest rate. For home improvements, the most popular financing is the home equity loan. en-us Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:00:00 EDT Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:00:00 EDT Weblog Editor 2.0 A home equity loan is a loan secured by the equity in your home. Also called an equity loan, home equity loans come at relatively inexpensive interest rates and come in different forms. The most popular home equity loan is the home equity line of credit, or HELOC, which provides a line of credit instead of a loan. Each month, you pay the interest on your loan, and can also pay down the principal that you borrowed, or borrow more money up to the credit limit. Understanding how Home Equity Works If your house is now worth $200,000, and your mortgage is for $120,000, you have $80,000 in equity. Equity is the value of your home in excess of your existing mortgage. With a home equity loan, you can borrow against this equity, taking out a second mortgage on your house. This is a loan, and like your mortgage needs to be paid back. Depending on whether you choose a line of credit or a home equity loan, you will have different payment terms and time frames. Who should have a Home Equity Loan? A home equity loan is a serious consideration, because if you do not make your payments, the bank can foreclose on your house. However, the loan comes at lower interest rates than unsecured loans like credit cards or unsecured lines of credit. If you are making progress on paying down your balances, borrowing against your house to pay off your debts may lower your monthly bill and help you repay your debts faster. If you have a home equity line of credit open, then if a financial disaster hits, you have that supply of cash available to you. Many home owners that take our payday loans probably wish that they had opened a HELOC before financial disasters hit, letting them borrow the money cheaper than payday loans would provide. Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:00:00 EDT