by Eric Tupaz
The difference between a home equity line of credit(HELOC) and a traditional home equity loan could save you thousands of dollars and slash 13 years from your mortgage
You probably would say there isnt much difference between a traditional credit card and an American Express Card since you think they serve the same purpose?
The difference is actually quite significant.
A Visa or a MasterCard charges high interest rates and you will only be allowed to pay for the minimum balance every month. In contrast, the American Express card imposes extra charges when the creditor is unable to pay their accounts in full at the end of each month.
The American Express card therefore provides you with funds for the purchases that you will be making for 30 days but you also have to be responsible enough to settle your accounts when it is due
So while credit cards seem to be just credit cards, they in fact serve two different purposes. If you do not plan your cash flow, you could be in trouble if you don’t make payments on your American Express card.
This concept also applies is the same with your HELOC and your home equity loan account. If you dont know the difference between the two, you might find yourself spending a lot on interest when you could have actually slashed 13 years off your mortgage account if you knew how to use it.
Lets start.
HELOC interest rates are variable. This line of credit can be secured through your home and you can consider this as your second mortgage.
HELOC interest rates adjust to the prime interest rate. When the prime interest rate rises, your HELOC interest rate would rise with it.
If the prime interest rate decreases, the HELOC will do too. Under certain circumstances, you will be able to get a lower interest rate for your HELOC. The rate will even be relatively lower than your prime rate. This largely depends on your financial situation.
Your outstanding HELOC balance will serve as basis for calculating your HELOC mortgage interest rate. So your interest rate will be computed per day if you make multiple remittances within the month. The result of the computation will be the interest rate that will be applied to your mortgage account.
This system of calculating interest is called the variable method simply because the amount of your interest could increase or decrease daily.
This is enough to make you realize that making use of the method is completely to your advantage.
You can pay off your HELOC and borrow from it anytime as long as you dont exceed the HELOC limit.
It is true that HELOC is almost the same as the traditional home equity loan. There, however, are two main points that distinguishes one from the other.
First, the home equity loan operates on a fixed time frame. You have to pay a fixed home equity loan interest per month and you will be paying a fixed interest rate. There are no fluctuations even when the prime interest rate changes. This mortgage will then be considered as a 30-year fixed loan account.
Second, you are not allowed to borrow from you equity loan any time. You may only do so by making sure that you have enough equity and refinancing your home equity loan account.
If you require lump sum payments and you want to pay in small amounts monthly, then using the traditional home equity loan will be perfect for you. This will allow you to pay off your interest and at the same time allocate extras for your principal loan.
In all aspects, a traditional home equity loan is fixed. The interest-rate, the amount you borrow and the home equity loan payment term is fixed. You cannot change this and you’re expected to repay this mortgage over the life of the loan.
The HELOC loan, on the other hand, opens up the possibility of you paying for lower interest rates. The principal amount borrowed may even change over the repayment term of your loan.
Both these strategies also have their own benefits and drawbacks.
The one significant advantage of the HELOC that no one talks about is that you can use it as a mortgage checking account.
This means that you can deposit your paycheck in the HELOC, pay bills and make electronic bill payments every single month. As you can see this works just like a regular checking account.
And heres another undisclosed fact.
When you convert your HELOC into a checking account, you are actually taking 13 years off your primary mortgage and save thousands of dollars in the process plus achieve a mortgage reduction strategy faster. .
As a matter of fact, you can save up to $63,000 or more without having to change your lifestyle or shell out more cash and achieve a mortgage reduction strategy faster.
Because interest rates is variable and you have the freedom to borrow and remit money anytime, the home equity line of credit is one great method of paying off your mortgage early achieving a mortgage reduction strategy faster.