Home Equity loans

[The Bad Guy]

Originally Posted by MahiMike

Well as far as borrowed money goes, it doesn't get cheaper than a HELOC. Just be careful in how you use it. The bank will try to loan up to 80-85% of what your home is worth so you could end up with access to $80K overnight. Hard to resist the temptations that come with that.

As far as spending $ on your home for "improvements", to me that's just a bad idea. Repairs is another issue but improvements tend to just improve the bottom line for your bank. The only time you should improve your home is when you are selling it.

Many folks think their home is an asset but it's really a liability until you rent it out...

Good luck.

I don't agree at all with that. I had this house built this house 6 years ago and because unexpected issues with drainage and the digging for the foundation, I had to make decisions about what could wait.

The improvement of having a finished basement gives more livable space as my kids get older.

I just don't think I'll have a 20-25k surplus anytime soon and they aren't getting any younger to do this.