Any reason to have a HELOC?

[Anonymous]

We don't have one but have substantial savings in no risk/low risk accounts. My husband is very risk averse. We could probably live 2 years on no salary.

And our mortgage rate is already 2.5%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe you lose your job and can't find one for another year or two and you need money to live off of, but no one will give you a loan since you don't have a job.

+1 That is what happened to me and now we are in deep trouble. Should have gotten HELOC - have hundreds of thousands in equity tied up in house. Now MoCo taxes HELOCs so I'm even more screwed.

Can you elaborate on this? I'm considering getting a HELOC in MoCO.

[Anonymous]

The question should be is there any reason not to have one? If you are using it as a bank or ATM you have money management issues, if you are using it for the reasons a financial planer would suggest you are smart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are the fees involved in getting a HELOC?

Find a deal where the bank pays all the fees.

Does BOA pay all the fees?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are the fees involved in getting a HELOC?

Find a deal where the bank pays all the fees.

Does BOA pay all the fees?

You need to call them. We are getting a home equity loan (not a HELOC) through PNC and they are paying all the fees for the loan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are the fees involved in getting a HELOC?

Find a deal where the bank pays all the fees.

Does BOA pay all the fees?

You need to call them. We are getting a home equity loan (not a HELOC) through PNC and they are paying all the fees for the loan.

+1. You need to shop around like buying a new car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe you lose your job and can't find one for another year or two and you need money to live off of, but no one will give you a loan since you don't have a job.

+1 That is what happened to me and now we are in deep trouble. Should have gotten HELOC - have hundreds of thousands in equity tied up in house. Now MoCo taxes HELOCs so I'm even more screwed.

Can you elaborate on this? I'm considering getting a HELOC in MoCO.

Fairfax does this too. Or maybe VA. I looked into one for a 'just in case' scenario and the taxes at closing stopped me in my tracks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe you lose your job and can't find one for another year or two and you need money to live off of, but no one will give you a loan since you don't have a job.

+1 That is what happened to me and now we are in deep trouble. Should have gotten HELOC - have hundreds of thousands in equity tied up in house. Now MoCo taxes HELOCs so I'm even more screwed.

Can you elaborate on this? I'm considering getting a HELOC in MoCO.

Fairfax does this too. Or maybe VA. I looked into one for a 'just in case' scenario and the taxes at closing stopped me in my tracks.

If the Bank pays the closing costs what taxes do you have to pay?

[Anonymous]

I have a HELOC and don't remember paying tax on it. Is that just when you open it or annually?

[Anonymous]

I have one and I still don't get the point. In my opinion it would be smarter (if you are able) to just save money for tough times. My HELOC has a 5% interest rate, but it made no sense for me to use it for renovations when I was able to get an 18% month interest free credit card.

[Anonymous]

a friend of mine advised me to do it to make moving easier. we bought our first home with only like 3% downpayment. waited to get the HELOC until we desperately needed it - not enough cash on hand for some major repairs.

we save fairly sensibly, but still don't have 100k in liquid savings towards a downpayment on a new house. at least one idea is that we can use the HELOC towards full 20% downpayment on a new home, allowing us to close on the new house without a contingency for selling the old house, and to avoid paying mortgage insurance or higher interest rates associated with lower downpayment. it still leaves us in a bit of a bind if the old house doesn't sell quickly, but we could end up a lot better off.

my parents used theirs to fund a major investment opportunity. i think it wasn't quite the get rich quick scheme they had hoped, but they made a modest profit off it.

[Anonymous]

good thing it wasn't a get rich quick scheme. Those don't turn out well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are the fees involved in getting a HELOC?

Find a deal where the bank pays all the fees.

Does BOA pay all the fees?

BOA is awful and you shouldn't use them for anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a HELOC and don't remember paying tax on it. Is that just when you open it or annually?

Would like more information on this, too. And when did this start in Fairfax County?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are the fees involved in getting a HELOC?

Find a deal where the bank pays all the fees.

Does BOA pay all the fees?

BOA is awful and you shouldn't use them for anything.

Our HELOC is through BOA. I haven't accessed it in years but occasionally there was a short-term need. If you have it open but you don't use it it's just an emergency line of credit. No fees to open.