Using Your Home's Equity To Consolidate Debt - Home Equity Loans For Debt Consolidation

Summary: Before you take out a second mortgage or a home equity loan to consolidate your debt. Consider these points before you refinance or take out a home equity loan to pay off debt: 1. Are the credit cards you are refinancing low interest? - If they are, you might want to consider waiting and paying off the credit card debt separately. Mortgage debt is stretched out over many more years than some credit card payments would be. You could end up paying more over time for your cre...

Before you take out a second mortgage or a home equity loan to consolidate your debt. Consider these points before you refinance or take out a home equity loan to pay off debt: 1. Are the credit cards you are refinancing low interest? - If they are, you might want to consider waiting and paying off the credit card debt separately. Mortgage debt is stretched out over many more years than some credit card payments would be. You could end up paying more over time for your credit card debt than if you moved it to your mortgage loan. If your credit cards interest rate is reasonable or low, consider keeping the debt on your credit card until it is payed off. 2. If you refinance your credit card debt into your mortgage loan, it can become tax deductible. - If you refinance high interest debt into your mortgage loan, the savings to you could come in the form of tax deductions. Calculate the numbers considering your tax savings and see if that tips the scales for you and makes it worth refinancing. 3. Are you going into debt to finance a home improvement that adds value to your home? - If you are, this is usually considered a justifiable reason to take out a home equity loan or a second mortgage. Investing in the overall value of your home with home improvements or add-ons can help you in the long run. 4. Can you resist the temptation to max out your credit cards again? - If you can't resist, then definitely don't refinance your debt into your mortgage. This will just enable you to get into much more debt and possibly end you up not only maxed out in credit card debt, but maxed out in your home's equity as well. Increasing your debt load may make it difficult for you to make your monthly payments and can put your home at risk.