Bills Logo
Mark Cappel
UpdatedAug 15, 2007

I need help paying off a heloc loan. I didn't understand what it was at the time I was trying to buy my home

I need help paying off a HELOC loan. I didn't understand what it was at the time I was trying to buy my home, and now it is threatening to cost me my home, HELP!

There are several possible ways to help you in resolving your home equity line, but the option that is best for your financial situation will depend on your credit rating, your income, and the terms of your current loan. First, to learn more about home equity loans and home equity lines of credit, or HELOCs, I encourage you to visit the Bills.com Home Equity Resources page.

Probably the easiest way to resolve your home equity line of credit (HELOC) is a mortgage refinance loan. Basically, a refinance loan would pay off your current loans, including your HELOC, consolidating them into a single loan.

Bills.com makes it easy to compare mortgage offers and different loan types. Please visit the Mortgage Refinance page and find a loan that meets your needs.

Whether or not a refinance loan can save you money and lower your monthly payments depends on several factors, including your credit history and the interest rates on your current loans. Since I am not familiar with the specifics of your situation, I cannot tell you whether or not you should refinance your property. I encourage you to contact various mortgage brokers to discuss the options available to you. A broker will be able to analyze your current loans and the refinance options available to determine if a refinance loan will improve your financial prospects. If you can refinance your current loans to a fixed rate loan with a lower interest rate without incurring penalties, you should strongly consider doing so.

However, many home equity lines contain prepayment penalties if the line of credit is closed before end of the credit line term, so make sure you carefully review the terms of your home equity line before you move forward with a refinance. I encourage you to visit the Home Refinance Resources page of Bills.com, to read more about refinance loans. If you submit your contact information to the Bills.com Savings Center at the top of the page, we can have several pre-screened lenders contact you to discuss the options available to you.

If you are unable to refinance your current loans, or if the penalties will be too high to make a refinance practical, you should contact your HELOC lender to find out if they can assist you in lowering your monthly payments to make the loan more affordable. To be perfectly honest, I do not think it likely that the lender will offer to lower your payments, but it certainly is worth contacting the lender to discuss your financial situation. If the lender is not willing to assist you in repaying the loan, and you cannot refinance, you may want to consider selling your home to repay your mortgage and HELOC, and cash out any equity you have built in the home. If you are unable to make your HELOC payments, the lender may foreclose on your home, which could cause you to lose the equity you have worked to build in the home. Selling the home is certainly preferable to allowing the home to go into foreclosure.

I wish you the best of luck in resolving your financial difficulties, and I hope information I have provided helps you Find. Learn. Save.

Best,

Bill

www.Bills.com

1 Comments

SSam, Jun, 2011
I am currently taking my present 1st Mortgage @243K, 5.25% and the outstanding HELOC of $60K, 3.00% and making then one first mortgage and with cash out at whatever the 75% LTV ratio equates to. The loan I am getting is a 5/1 @ 3.00% with a half a percent point. I plan to sell the house within 5 yrs. The monthly payment stays the same, interest paid will be about $2000+ less and I also paying off a $20K CC @6%. This will leave me with ~ 40K