Generations past used to enjoy tax benefits on their interest payments on certain loans such as consumer loans. Unfortunately, these tax benefits did not extend to this current generation, and even as we cough up a huge amount every month on interest payments on various debts such as your credit card debts, you can no longer enjoy the same level of tax relief. However, there is another option today that will allow you to consolidate all your high interest debts into one low interest loan and even to secure good tax benefits for repaying the interest on it. This option is the home equity loan, and it is open to any homeowner, who can then use the loan for more efficient debt management.
Homeowners often obtain home equity loans for the purpose of restructuring or repairing the house. It then becomes a kind of long-term investment. However, you may hesitate at the thought of putting your house up yet again for a second mortgage. But if you are to enjoy lower interest payments and some tax benefits, you should not hesitate at all at taking this loan, or even wasting your time looking into other forms of loans to consolidate your debts. If you are already struggling with managing all you debts, then a home equity loan is your best solution for refinancing and managing your otherwise unmanageable debt.
By arranging to refinance your debt through a home equity loan, you are not further adding to your existing debt amount. This debt consolidation plan allows you to transfer all your various debts such as your credit card debts, with all their different due dates and interest rates, to one lender. For the repayment of this consolidated second loan you are paying a lower interest rate as a part of a fixed repayment plan.
Thus the convenience of making a single payment at a lower interest rate to one lending institution is just one of the benefits of home equity loans. In addition to this convenience, you also get to enjoy a tax benefit. This tax benefit along with the financial gains of paying a lot less interest, indirectly adds to your net gain.
Before committing to home equity loan you should make sure that you are in a position to pay back all the debts within the given period. Otherwise you will be putting your home at stake. So be careful about your spending habits, and be particularly wary of accumulating debts on your credit card.
Posts Tagged ‘Debt Consolidation Plan’
Top 2 Reasons To Use Home Equity Loans For Debt Consolidation
December 16th, 2009Debt Consolidation With Home Equity Loan Give you the Most Flexibility
September 6th, 2009Have you ever wondered how can you consolidation your debts and help you to save money which is used to pay for those high interest rate debts? You can reduce your interest rate charges by using your home equity loan to consolidate all of your outstanding debts. Your home equity loan can be used to consolidate debt and pay off the following accounts:
Credit card balances
Gas card balances
Department store balances
Installment loans
Auto loans
Any account balance that is outstanding.
Home equity loans allow a homeowner to borrow money by pledging the house as collateral. Normally this loan is easier to be approved by the lender even if you have bad credit because the lender view home equity loan as relatively safe. And you can borrow a relatively large amount of money to pay off all or most of your other high interest rate debts.
Home equity loans generally have a much lower interest rate than most credit cards and other unsecured loans. You can also set the repayment terms at a fixed rate so that you can plan exactly how much to budget each month. Also save time and hassle by writing just one monthly check.
Most home equity loans have the following repayment terms:
up to 5 years
up to 10 years
up to 15 years
up to 20 years
Thus, you have the flexibility of tailor a debt consolidation plan that fit your budget. If your debt consolidation balance is high, you may go plan with a long repayment period. With the longer repayment period, you will pay lower monthly repayment and budget for other living expenses needs.
What are the things save in debt consolidation?
By consolidation your debt with a home equity loan let you have the flexibility to plan ahead for your other living expenses needs. Home equity loan carries a much lower interest rate than most credit cards and other loans. And any interest you pay may be tax deductible. Hence, using home equity loan to write off your high interest rate debts such as credit card (more than 12% of interest rate) will leave you a high income balance (after deduce the month repayment for home equity loan) to budget for other needs such as send your kids to college, finance a new car & etc.
How much can you save?
That depends on your income bracket and annual percentage rate. But after deducting all the qualifying interest payments from your taxes, your effective APR will be significantly lowered. By comparing this lower interest rate to your car loan, credit cards and other installment loan’s interest rates which do not qualify for tax deductible, you can see why is a smart way of doing debt consolidation with a home equity loan.
Summary
Home equity loan is the best method to consolidate your high interest debts; it carries low interest rate, tax deductible and love by the lenders as the secured loan to their borrowers. Debt consolidation with home equity loan gives you the maximum flexibility to plan ahead.
Cornie Herring is the Author from “StudyKiosk-Credit Basics”- http://www.studykiosk.com/creditbasics. “StudyKiosk-Credit Basics” is an informational website on credit basics, debt consolidation and bankruptcy.
By: Cornie Herring
