If you are a current homeowner, then odds are you have seen the value of your home increase over the course of the last few years. Whether you already have a home equity loan or line of credit, or are interested in one of these options, leveraging the equity in your home can help you save money and accomplish your goals. Here are some smart ways to put the value found in your home to work.
Smart Ways To Use Your Home's Equity
Home Improvements
You can further add to the value of your home with certain upgrades. For example, you can upgrade your kitchen appliances, re-do the bathroom, or make an addition. Alternatively, you could make structural repairs to keep your home safe, like replacing the roof or re-wiring a room. A home equity loan or line of credit allows you to affordably spruce up the look and value of your home.
College Tuition
Using your home’s equity can be an efficient way to borrow money for college after you’ve explored other loan and scholarship opportunities. Instead of taking out student loans at a higher interest rate, you could use a home equity loan or line of credit. After weighing the options, a home equity loan or line of credit may make sense for this purpose.
Vacation Oasis
We all have that special place in the world where we have always wanted to visit—or return to. By planning wisely, using a home equity loan or line of credit can help get you there. This is certainly a less expensive option than using a high-rate credit card. So, book that trip, pack those bags, and collect those memories. The low-rate payments of a home equity loan or line of credit can help make this dream a reality.
Debt Reduction
If you have credit cards and other loans with high interest rates you can use your home equity loan or line of credit to consolidate these debts, leaving you with one monthly bill that’s likely smaller than the others combined. To keep that good feeling of lower payments, you may want to put those high-rate credit cards aside while you make payments to your home equity loan or line of credit.