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Why a home equity loan could be your answer to debt consolidation

admin — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:37:20 +0000

The home equity loan can help you pay off debts as well as have some extra cash at hand! Consolidation is now a possibility With rising default rates and delinquencies, most people today are finding it increasingly difficult to manage their finances. From existing loans to credit cards to even medical expenses – the average cost of living seems to have skyrocketed in all quarters. That’s where a home equity loan can come to the rescue. Every month the prospect of having to pay multiple bills of varying amounts can be a huge difficulty. Not only is it difficult to keep track of all these bills and expenses, the cumulative costs can work out to be very high. With a home equity loan you can pay just a single bill every month. This will help you plan finances and get you more organized as well. Reduced interest rates Most of the time existing credit card debts, loan outstanding amounts and other liabilities can involve huge interest rates and high expenses. A home equity loan can actually provide a reduced interest rate. The best thing is you get the entire loan amount in a lump sum. This helps you pay for any expenses towards your liabilities. You also get some extra cash at hand. Tax savings A home equity loan has a tremendous benefit in that it provides for significant tax benefits. You get to deduct your interest amount if you have a home equity loan. This is if the home equity loan is being used for purposes like education, consolidation of debts or even for the improvement of the home etc. You can consult with a tax advisor to check the possibilities. Customized loan The best thing about a home equity loan is that you get to choose the type that suits your unique requirements. You can choose a home equity loan with a fixed or adjustable interest rate. The fixed rate will entail a designated monthly payment that does not vary with time. The adjustable rate will vary depending on market conditions. You can also have the option of getting an adjustable rate home equity loan with a rate cap that has been established beforehand. Free up cash With a reduced interest rate and longer payment period, a home equity loan can offer significant advantages. For example for starters, it frees up extra cash – so that you can utilize this amount for any home improvement modifications – like maybe doing up the kitchen, or getting new furniture etc. Suddenly getting a home equity loan seems rewarding because now you not only get to pay off all your debts, you also actually get some cash at hand to use for other important things!

Consolidate Credit Card Debt and Eliminate Debt With a Home Equity Loan

admin — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:36:43 +0000

National surveys shows that in average American households carry a credit card balance of approximately $10,000. Many find that it hard to reduce their debts especially credit card debts due to it high financial charge, interest rolled from month to month because most of them just pay the minimum payment each month, causing their debt snowballing and at last they may trap into financial crisis.

While bankruptcy is a tempting option, it is important to explore other alternatives for eliminating debts. Debt settlement with a debt consolidation loan is a better option that bankruptcy. And if you own a home, you are at a much better position to get rid of your debt by consolidating your high interest credit card debt with a home equity loan.

Benefits of a Debt Consolidation Loan

Although a debt consolidation loan is not a magic way to eliminate your debts overnight, but it can help you to reduce your debt faster. As you know, credit card debts and other personal loans are high interest debts. In most cases, your minimum payment barely covers the interest incur by these high interest debts. Hence, you find it difficult to reduce these high interest debt’s balance if your are paying just the minimum payment.

If you lump all your credit cards debts and other personal loans into a consolidation loan, you can take advantage of lower interest rates and lower monthly payments offered by a consolidation loan. This enables you to enjoy debt free with a few years.

Conslidate Debts With Home Equity Loan

There are various ways to obtain debt consolidation loan. You could apply for personal loan or any unsecured loan with reasonable and lower interest rate as compare to your current debt’s interest rate and consolidate your debts into this loan. But, to obtain an unsecured loan, you need to have a good credit score else you loan application most probably will be rejected.

The best way to consolidate your credit card debts or any other high interest debts is using a home equity loan. Of cause, you need to own a home in order to apply for a home equity loan. Home equity is ideal for you to consolidate your credit card debts because the interest is much lower interest rate than credit card and other unsecured loan. And the best part is it normaly have different terms or repayment periods for you to choose from. The longer the repayment terms, the lower the monthly payment is. If your current financial is tight, you could choose the longer repayment term and pay more when you are at better financial situation.

With a home equity loan, your equity works as the collateral. If your home equity is $50,000, you could obtain a loan up to this amount. You could use this home equity loan to clear up all your credit card balances plus other loans; and you just need to focus on making a single monthly payment to your home equity loan.

Some Caution On Using Home Equity Loan To Consolidate Your Debts

Although consolidate all your credit card debts with a home equity loan is an ideal way to settle your high interest rate outstanding debt. You should use the fund wise, borrow just what need to clear your consolidated debts and avoid accumulating new debts while working on clearing your home equity loan. Failure to repay a home equity loan will result in losing your home.

In Summary

If you intend to pay off your debts, consolidating all your debts and pay them off with a home equity loan is a good option. There are tax advantages with a home equity loan and you could also take the advantages of lower interest rates and lower monthly payments offered by a home equity loan.

Top 2 Reasons To Use Home Equity Loans For Debt Consolidation

admin — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 02:35:59 +0000

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.

Home Equity Loans – Tips to Get Out of Debt

admin — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:36:08 +0000

Home equity loans can be an excellent source of funds when used wisely. One of the ways in using the cash from a home equity loan is to consolidate your debts.

Why is it wise to consolidate your debt with the money from your home equity? There are several good reasons which include:

-Paying a much lower interest rate than you pay on your credit cards. In some cases it can be a third of what a credit card company is charging.

-You can most likely deduct the interest expense on your home equity loan whereas you can not on credit cards. This is a huge benefit.

-All your debts are consolidated into one monthly loan payment.

So, what are your options when it comes to using your home equity to pay off your debts? Again, you have choices you can take advantage of including:

Home Equity Loan

Also known as a second mortgage, you can take the equity in your home and borrow against it at a favorable rate of interest. You get the cash in one lump sum and can then pay off your debts or use it how you wish.

Home Equity Line Of Credit

Similar in nature to a credit card, HELOC allows you to draw funds from your home equity and only make payments on that amount, not on an entire loan.

Cash-Out Refinance

This is the third option you have and involves refinancing your existing home mortgage. You would refinance the new mortgage at a greater amount and take the extra money in cash. For example, you want to pay off $25,000 in credit card debt and owe $150,000 on your current mortgage. You could do a cash-out refinance to a new loan amount of $175,000.

Using your home equity to pay off high interest debts can be a wise decision if done right. Just be careful to not start using those credit cards again.

Home Equity Loans-How To Zero Out Credit Card Debt

admin — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:35:50 +0000

Millions of Americans are up to their ears in debt. They struggle every month just to meet the minimum payment which just prolongs the debt. Credit cards have high finance fees. Hence, it is difficult to pay down balances. In most cases, the minimum payment barely covers the finance charges. This makes it difficult to reduce the credit card balance. One approach for eliminating or reducing debts involves acquiring a debt consolidation loan. Although debt consolidation loans will not miraculously eliminate your debts, these loans make is possible to reduce your debts faster. In 2005 the value of home equity across the US was $11. 3 trillion. The percentage of home ownership in 2005 was 69% down slightly from the record 69. 2 % in 2004. Almost 124 million Americans own their own home. There is plenty of money available to lend. If you obtain a debt consolidation loan, all your credit balances are lumped into one loan. Furthermore, debt consolidation loans have reasonable interest rates. This enables you to become debt free within a few years. There are various ways to obtain a debt consolidation loan. Individuals with good credit may qualify for a personal debt consolidation loan. If you own a home, it may be possible to get approved for a home equity loan. Home equity loans are ideal because the rates are low and the terms fixed. Usually, homeowners are able to repay the money in five to seven years – sometimes less. Just beware that home equity does not automatically go up every month like some would have you believe. Several factors far beyond your control determine the value of your home. Just within the last six months or so the value of homes in some parts of the country dropped by 10% in a month. Before you get a home equity loan you should know these facts. They are secured by a second deed of trust on your house. If your financial situation changes your home could be at risk of foreclosure. Having to make two payments on your home can be a lot of financial strain. A lot of unscrupulous lenders could care less. Keep your eyes open to what the local housing market is doing. Just recently many areas experienced a 10% decline in values in one month causing many homeowners to owe more than their home was worth. It is essential to use the funds wisely and borrow only what you can afford to payback. Most Americans who use their home equity to pay off their credit card debt refuse to change their habits and lifestyles, and actually see their zero-balance cards as an invitation to go shopping – perpetuating the cycle. Before you put your home at risk with a second mortgage understand the risks. Explore all the possibilities. Just because a home equity loan for debt consolidation seems so easy to do and easy to get, doesn’t make it the right choice for you. Don’t press the EASY button.