Off Topic. Home Equity Loans

[hughes]

Me and the wife plan on selling our house around March of 2008. We have some minor repair/improvements we would like to make to the home. I just don't have the extra cash for these improvements so we are kicking around the home equity loan thing. Were only looking at $6,000 to borrow. First horizon is our mortgage company. Any pros/cons for these types of loans? Thanks. 

[kaw rider]

I have one for things like that. it would be a pro for you because of improvments to your home before sell. that 6,000 might turn into 15-20,000 more value to home. spend that money in the right area for the most bang for your dollar.

[fluffy]

Home                                                                                                              equity                                                                                                             loan                  spells hell. my 2 cents,borrow 6 for 10-15-or however menny years,financial mistake,i dont care who says otherwise. i would rather borrow money for a short time then a long time. look into a personal loan,and pay it off right after sale.

[Rowdy-Yates]

Hughes (btw Hello) Is the equity loan a seperate loan? And does is work kinda like a CC?  Because I refied and added about 20k and regreted it ever since. But then again I owe very little on my house.

[kx666]

i am by no means an expert i this field, but i know that is is always best to barrow from yourself (i.e. home equity loan) then any where else. i would look into going for it.

[kaw rider]

one of my customers bought this girlfriend a set of headlight with his line of credit from his mortage. 

[5dracing]

I've done the Home equity loan a few times and it worked well for me. You borrow against the value of your house. In your case you would have a low payment on this amount until you sell your house. Once you sell your house then pay it off. (Most banks will require the equity loan be paid off upon the sale of the house). As was mentioned before spend it in areas of big gain like kitchens, bathrooms, exterior upgrades, roofing, family rooms, those seem to get the most bang for the buck.

I bought a house for $28G it had 22G in Equity. I used about $10G of the equity, did the work myself and then sold the house for $60G.

It works if you use it wisely.