Home Equity Loans to Pay Off Consumer Debt - Is It Wise?

You have surely heard about debt consolidation through home equity. Many debt advisors suggest applying for an equity loan in order to use the money to pay off consumer credit card debt. Though the idea of reducing debt by unifying the payment and replacing unsecured debt with a secured loan may sound tempting, there are other factors that should be considered. There is a big question mark as to the convenience of resorting to loans to pay off consumer debt.

What Is The Purpose?

Via obtaining one of these loans you can get enough funds to cancel outstanding consumer debt. When compared to credit card debt. These loans provide cheaper financing because the interest rates charged are more than significantly lower. Therefore, you would be exchanging expensive debt for inexpensive debt thus reducing the amount of your monthly payments by up to 60% or even more.


Moreover, your debt will be unified into a single loan with a single monthly payment. It all seems very promising as you obtain a debt reduction and simplify your bills too. However, not all debt advisors agree about this. Though most of them admit that there are benefits to be obtained from consolidating with these loans, there are also many among them that point out that the drawbacks can overrun the benefits.

What Are The Objections?

The main objection about exchanging consumer debt for a home equity loan or line of credit is that by doing so you are paying off credit card debt which is unsecured with a secured form of finance. This implies that you are increasing the risk for you and decreasing it for the lender. Why? Because the lender now has an asset that can be subject to foreclosure in case you fail to repay the money owed.

The property that provides the equity is used as collateral for the loan thus, securing its repayment. This extra assurance is what helps you obtain a lower interest rate and more flexible loan conditions. But, in turn, it risks your property which can be sold in a public auction in case you default on the equity loan. Advisors point out that if you are currently unable to afford your monthly payments, chances are that you may fail to afford the loan payments too and collecting will be a lot easier for the lender with a secured form of financing.

Is It Advisable Or Not?

As usual, there is a bit of truth on both sides. You can really free up a lot of cash by consolidating your consumer debt with a home equity loan but the consequences can be disastrous if you fail to repay the loan. The asset can be subject to foreclosure and it is also true that unsecured debt can be negotiated with the lenders or credit card issuers to obtain similar or equal results than with consolidation.

However, what these advisors fail to point out is that the lenders have legal actions to recover their money even if the debt is unsecured. It may be more expensive and it may take longer but they can still endanger your property by taking legal actions to recover their investment. Therefore, the use of home equity to pay off credit card debt should be considered as an option but taking the necessary precautions. You should just make sure that the resulting payments will not imply too many sacrifices and put your property at risk.