While a home equity loan or line of credit can be used for just about anything, the top uses in our area are primarily:

• Debt Consolidation
• Home Improvement
• College Costs
• Investment Properties

The reason that this type of loan is so appealing is that you may be eligible for a tax deduction (consult your tax advisor) by using your home as collateral, and the rates are generally lower than other loan types or credit cards. Home equities also offer the option of getting a loan or taking out a line of credit to best fit your needs. Bring your bills and come see us. We’ll be happy to see if a home equity option can save you money. Click the set up an appointment button below to get started.

Once you’ve owned a house for a few years and built some equity up, you can borrow against it. This type of loan is called a home equity loan or you can take out a home equity line of credit. While often this type of loan is used for major home improvements and renovations, you can actually use it for anything: college expenses, traveling, paying down debt, etc.

Since you’re borrowing against the value of your home, it’s considered a secure loan. Your home is the collateral. Both options are essentially a second mortgage. So what’s the difference?

A Home Equity Loan offers you a lump sum of money up front. You then pay this off over a predetermined period of time as a fixed monthly payment. This option is good for a one-time immediate need, such as building a new deck. The interest rate is almost always lower than a credit card and the interest you pay on a home equity loan is often tax deductible (consult a tax advisor first).

A Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) is a revolving line of credit up to a certain amount that you can draw on up to a certain number of years. As you need money over a longer period of time you can pull as you need it. Generally there is a minimum payment due each month, but you can usually pay off as much as you like. Just like the Loan, the interest rate is almost always lower than a credit card and the interest you pay on a HELOC is often tax deductible (consult a tax advisor first). This option is good for ongoing cash needs like college expenses, or many different ongoing renovation projects.

No matter your needs, there is often a home equity option we can help you with.

We want to help you make changes for the better in your life—changes you’ve only imagined, but thought you didn’t have the funds to complete. It’s OK—let your imagination go. We’re here to support you with a home equity loan or line of credit, no matter what your dream.

At First Source, we put our highest premium on you, our Members. Our whole job is about supporting you in your dreams, no matter how big or small. We really value your feedback, so it’s especially rewarding and humbling when a Member takes the time to let us know they appreciated something we did for them. Here’s a wonderful note from a Member. And we’d love to hear from you—so please let us know if we did something well, or can do something better!

I heard about the low financing available for home equities, which is what sparked my interest originally a couple years ago. I had already had a home equity loan with First Source a few years back.

The woman who I had been dealing with was no longer there, so I was introduced to Pete. He was such pleasure to work with, extremely helpful to me and my husband. I asked many questions and Pete was very, very knowledgeable. And if he didn’t know, he found the answer within minutes.

I was attracted to First Source as their rates were very low. Everyone from the person at the front desk, to the tellers, to the loan specialist were so very friendly, always willing to help with a smile on their face. They have saved me a lot of money with the low rate that I am getting for my home equity loan. The process was extremely easy, I only needed to give them a few papers and Pete did all the rest.

I have recommended my friends to First Source and to specifically ask for Pete as he is very easy going and so intelligent. I am the type of person that is not comfortable talking about money with people I don’t know. Pete made it so easy. I had dealt with other credit unions in the past for years and I am happy to say I will be staying here. I am very happy to be a member of First Source Federal Credit Union.

Whenever I had called Pete with a question, he always returned my call very quickly if he was busy helping someone else, and no question of mine was ever silly to him. He made my experience very smooth and comfortable. I will now be opening a savings account for my children. Excellent service, very helpful and caring employees.

– Lisa Skowron, First Source Member

We get lots of questions about Home Loans and our resident expert, Mary Beth Geglia will be sharing the answers to some of the most common ones with us on the blog.

What is a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) and what are good uses for it?

A Home Equity Line of Credit is a line of credit against your home. It differs from a Fixed Home Equity loan in that every time you make a payment on the HELOC, the money can be reused. Some examples of when this might be the right kind of loan for your are:

• A child going away to college when you’ll need to send a different payment amount multiple times per year.
• When you have multiple purposes for the money and you don’t need all the money at once. For example, putting in a pool one year, a deck the following year, and a vacation the third year.

You can make the payments on one project at reuse the money again when other projects come up. You’re also only making payments on the money you’ve drawn against it, not the entire amount.