Line of credit or LOC is a very convenient deal between the lender and the borrower of the loan. It basically focuses on the amount that is to be paid over a specified period of time and its specifications like term length and interest rates etc. It could probably be secured by collateral. HELOC is the secured type of line of credit. The secured lines of credit usually have a lower interest rate than the non-secured ones.
HELOC is Home Equity Line of credit and is a loan offered to the borrower keeping his home as collateral. Home serves as the security of the loan because your home is generally your most prized asset and it nearly always serves the purpose. There are different types of HELOC plans but usually you need to set the time period in which you are to borrow the money, say 15 years. Then after this period you are to repay the amount you have drawn with interest. The time period in which you can use the credits is called draw period. Some of the HELOC plans offer a renewal of the draw period once it is finished but there are also the ones that don’t. If the plan you are using offers this feature, you can draw extra credits as well.
Usually, HELOC plans or any other line of credit plan don’t bound you to draw credits every month or any other period, but there are also some plans that require a minimum amount that you need to draw over specified episodes. Moreover, some of the plans need the initial amount to be drawn for activating the plan. You are then given unique checks that you need to use every time you want to borrow money against your line of credit. A few plans may supply you a credit card or some other tool to draw the credit.
The interest rate and its application vary with the different types of plans. Usually in a line of credit arrangement, you are only to pay the interest on the amount you have drawn. But as home equity plans differ significantly from LOC plans, variations are expectable. These interest quotients are more than often variable throughout the term and depend on market indices.
The different HELOC plans also have different repayment policies. There are some that ask for the whole payment at the end of the draw period. In these plans, you cannot repay before the term period ends. Some others set specific fixed episodes of time where you can have the ability to repay the total amount in small parts and gradually clear the payment. A home equity line of credit ceases or foreclosures if you fail to make the repayments in due time. This is where a property kept as collateral comes in view.
For more information on HELOC please visit: http://www.canadabanks.net
