What You Need to Know About Getting a Home Equity Loan

With the steadily rising home prices at present (more so in key cities), it isn’t far fetched that you’re probably sitting on a huge equity especially if you’ve been paying your mortgage for about 10 years or more. Tapping into your home equity by using a home equity loan can give you a huge advantage in paying off high-interest debts and affording some expenses without having to sell your home.

Do you know that approximately 10 million homeowners will take a home equity loan between 2018 to 2022 as predicted by a TransUnion study? That’s double the numbers from 2013 to 2017! What better time than now to understand how equity loans work and find out what you need to know in order to get one?

Know Your Credit Score

Your credit score is a key factor in determining whether your loan will be approved or not, so finding out your credit score is a must more so if you want to really plan out your options just in case a line of credit or a home equity loan may not come into fruitition.

Find Out How Much Debt Do You Have

The current debt that you have may become a hindrance to your securing a loan. Although a lot of people get a home equity loan for debt consolidation, wanting to do the same may not sit well with some lenders. Lenders lend you money so that they can get interest in return. They know they won’t be getting any if your existing debts are eating up 43% of your income or more.

Determine Your Equity

Your equity will let you know about how much you can tap by getting a home equity loan or a line of credit. Do this after the initial steps above. To simplify, you need to have an estimate of your home’s current value and subtract how much you still owe from that. Reduce the answer to 80% of your numbers and that will be the maximum a lender is probably going to lend you. Plan around that accordingly to avoid surprises and determine if the effort of filing and fees will be worth it.

Why Are You Getting A Loan?

Assess why you are getting a loan and what you can do besides applying for a home equity loan. Find out what are the types of home equity loans and determine which will fit your needs and goals better. Do you need a huge lump sum payable in the next 5 to 15 years? Then a home equity loan is the right option for you. If what you need is extra funds for repeated expenses, a line of credit can help ease your financial burden for about 10 years.

Want to talk with Canadian mortgage experts about ways to use your home equity in the future? Talk to us and we’d be happy to walk you through the various details of applying for a home equity loan as well as the benefits of home equity loans.