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3 home equity questions homeowners should ask now
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For much of the last two years, borrowers have been saddled with higher interest rates on everything from mortgages to personal loans to credit cards. Fortunately, there’s been one relatively low-rate alternative: home equity borrowing. By utilizing a home equity loan or home equity line of credit (HELOC) in recent years, homeowners could access large sums of money, often at a much lower interest rate than if they had pursued popular alternatives.
As with all financial products and services, however, the timing for using these options is critical. And with inflation seemingly on a downward (if uneven) trajectory and interest rate cuts on the horizon, homeowners need to understand their options before pursuing this type of credit. That understanding starts with obtaining the answers to a series of important questions. Below, we’ll list — and answer — three home equity questions homeowners should be asking now.
Start by seeing what home equity loan rate you could qualify for here.
3 home equity questions homeowners should ask now
Here are three important questions homeowners considering using their home equity this spring should ask now.
Where are interest rates headed?
The benchmark interest rate range, which largely influences rates on borrowing products, is at a 23-year high currently. But many are predicting a reduction in that range soon, possibly as soon as this summer. If that happens then the rates on home equity loans and HELOCs will fall, too.
But an interest rate reduction, as beneficial as it may be, will only be an extra incentive for homeowners considering this option. That’s because rates for home equity loans and HELOCs are already much better than other alternatives like credit cards (hovering around 20% currently) and personal loans (averaging around 12%). Home equity loans and HELOCs, meanwhile, are both under 9% right now — and will fall lower if and when the Federal Reserve issues its first rate cut of 2024.
Learn more about today’s home equity interest rates here.
Is a home equity loan or HELOC better this spring?
Home equity loans and HELOCs each have unique advantages and disadvantages. But the timing here is critical. Thanks to the variable interest rate that HELOCs come with — and the likelihood of interest rate cuts to come later this year — there is a strong case for using a HELOC instead of a home equity loan this spring. This will leave borrowers in a stronger position — if and when rates do fall — to then see their HELOC rate fall in tandem.
Home equity loan users, meanwhile, would have to refinance their loans to secure that lower rate. That said, that variable rate nature works in both ways so borrowers should be prepared for the volatility it presents in advance.
How much home equity do I have?
The average amount of home equity homeowners have right now is around $299,000. That’s a significant amount of money that can be used for debt consolidation, major expenses and even home repairs and renovations. If you use either a home equity loan or HELOC for the latter, you may also qualify for interest tax deductions when you file your return in 2025.
That said, that average amount of equity is exactly that — an average. Depending on multiple factors, you may have more or less to utilize. But if you’re located in a region of the country that has experienced a rise in home values, now may be an opportune time to act, before rates are cut and the real estate market readjusts.
See how much equity you could borrow here today.
The bottom line
With home equity borrowing rates lower than many alternatives — and with the prospect of them falling even lower in the months to come — now is a great time for homeowners to act. Before doing so, however, they should do their research and have the answers to specific questions. By better understanding where home equity interest rates are heading, which type of borrowing option may be preferable and how much equity they realistically have to utilize, they’ll be better prepared to use their home equity both now and in the future.
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Long before comic book characters dominated movie screens, actor Christopher Reeve made the world believes in superheroes with the 1978 classic “Superman.”
Reeve died in 2004, nearly a decade after an accident re-shaped his life. “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” is using interviews with family and friends and never-before-seen home videos to explore his real-life heroism.
Reeve started his career on the stage, studying at the prestigious Juilliard School and living with comedian Robin Williams. The pair had a friendship that was “more like a brotherhood,” said Reeve’s son Matthew. Reeve was in awe of Williams’ energy and versatility, Matthew Reeve said, but audiences quickly clued into Reeve’s own star power when he took on the role of the Man of Steel.
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To his children, though, he “was just dad,” Matthew Reeve said. The documentary explores how Matthew Reeve and his sister Alexandra Reeve Givens grew up watching their dad take the stage as Superman. “Super/Man” also reveals their heartbreak over their parents’ breakup and the joy they found when Reeve re-married. He tied the knot with Dana Reeve in 1992, and the pair welcomed another child, William Reeve, later that year.
“Dana was sunshine,” Alexandra Reeve Givens recalled. “She just brought joy with her wherever she was and could find it even in the darkest moments.”
Those dark moments came suddenly, when in 1995, a near-fatal horseback riding accident left Reeve paralyzed from the neck down. The documentary allows viewers to see, for the first time, what went on out of the public’s view. Reeve can be heard talking about how he “ruined (his) life and everybody else’s,” but in a touching moment, old friend Robin Williams is seen visiting him in the hospital.
“Robin showed him ‘Hey, you’re still you,'” Alexandra Reeve Givens said. “‘You still have this foundation of friendship and people around you, who adore you. And you’re going to find those fun moments in life again.'”
That support from friends and family re-ignited Reeve’s legacy of activism. He made appearances at the Democratic National Convention and the 68th Academy Awards in 1996, about a year after the accident. Matthew Reeve said watching his father address his industry peers at the Oscars was “one of (his) most proud moments.”
“It was just a production for him to get out of bed every morning, let alone get across the country and go out in public for the first time,” Matthew Reeve said. “It was a big deal. It was a big deal to him, but it was also a big deal to the entire disability community. We stayed up in London till like three in the morning to watch that live. It’s a fond memory.”
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Reeve also went on to launch what would become the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, which is dedicated to advancing research into spiral cord injury and help individuals and families impacted by paralysis. It was his dad’s mission to find a cure, Matthew Reeve said, while his stepmother wanted to focus on improving the lives of paralyzed people and their families. The foundation and Reeve’s platform helped bring unprecedented attention and funding to spinal cord injury research.
Reeve even kept acting and realized his lifelong dream of directing with the 1997 HBO movie “In the Gloaming.” Reeve died in 2004 from heart failure at 52.
“There is a huge amount of great actors and actresses out there, where their filmography might be amazing and what they achieve on a cultural level might be amazing, but have they actually achieved anything really as a human that moves the needle for our society?” said filmmaker Ian Bonhote, who made the documentary with Peter Ettedgui. “And Chris has done both things.”
“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” will open in theaters on Friday, Oct. 11.
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