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Can you increase your HELOC limit? 2 ways to do it
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In recent years, a surge in home values has provided many homeowners with a significant boost in their home equity levels. And, thanks to that widening gap between property values and outstanding mortgage balances, the average homeowner currently has nearly $300,000 worth of home equity that can be leveraged for financing home renovations, consolidating high-interest debt, funding education expenses, covering unexpected emergencies or any other number of uses.
And, there are several options available for accessing this equity, including home equity loans, which provide a lump sum of cash to borrowers, and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), which offer a revolving line of credit to draw from. But HELOCs, in particular, have become a popular choice for many due to the flexibility and convenience they offer, as these borrowing products allow homeowners to draw funds as needed, up to a predetermined limit. This makes HELOCs an attractive option for those who need access to funds over an extended period or those who need to borrow for multiple projects or expenses.
However, there may be instances when the initial HELOC limit falls short of a homeowner’s needs. Perhaps an unexpected opportunity arises, such as a profitable investment or a major home renovation project that exceeds the initial budget. In such cases, homeowners may wonder: Can you increase your HELOC limit? Below, we’ll break down two ways to do so.
Ready to tap into your home equity? Compare your top home equity and HELOC offers here.
Can you increase your HELOC limit? 2 ways to do it
In many cases, it is possible to increase the limit on your HELOC. After all, lenders understand that circumstances can change, and they may be willing to reevaluate your situation and adjust your credit line accordingly. So, if you want to increase your HELOC limit, there are a couple of ways you can approach it:
Refinance your HELOC
One way to increase your HELOC limit is to refinance your existing line of credit with a different lender. By shopping around and comparing offers from multiple lenders, you may be able to secure a more favorable deal — one with a higher credit limit, and in some cases, better terms.
When refinancing your HELOC, lenders will re-evaluate your financial situation, including your credit score, income and overall debt levels. If your circumstances have improved since you initially obtained your HELOC, or if you have a much higher amount of equity in your home than you did when you initially borrowed, you may be in a stronger position to negotiate a higher limit.
However, it’s important to note that refinancing may come with additional fees and costs, such as closing costs, appraisal fees and potential prepayment penalties from your current lender. Carefully weigh these expenses against the potential benefits of a higher credit limit to determine if HELOC refinancing is the right choice for you.
Explore today’s top HELOC rates online now.
Take out a new HELOC
If refinancing your existing HELOC is not an attractive option, you may want to consider taking out a new HELOC with a different lender instead. This approach essentially starts you with a fresh line of credit, potentially with a higher limit based on your current financial situation.
As with refinancing, when you’re applying for a new HELOC, the lenders you work with will thoroughly evaluate your creditworthiness, income, debt levels and the current value of your home. If you have maintained a strong credit profile, increased your income or seen significant appreciation in your home’s value since taking out your previous HELOC, you may, in turn, be eligible for a higher credit limit.
Keep in mind that taking out a new HELOC may also involve paying for additional fees and costs, such as application fees, appraisal fees and closing costs — so you’ll want to compare those costs against the potential cost of refinancing your current HELOC to determine which one makes more sense. And, you may need to provide extensive documentation to support your application, including proof of income, tax returns and other financial records, so keep that in mind as well.
What to consider before increasing your HELOC limit
Increasing your HELOC limit can provide several advantages, such as access to additional funds for home improvements, debt consolidation or other financial needs. That can be a big benefit for borrowers who need access to more money than expected initially. Increasing your HELOC limit can also offer greater flexibility and convenience compared to borrowing with a lump-sum home equity loan, as a HELOC allows you to borrow as needed up to your new limit.
However, there are also potential drawbacks to consider. A higher HELOC limit may tempt you to overextend yourself financially, potentially putting your home at risk of foreclosure if you struggle to make payments. And, the process of increasing your limit, whether through refinancing or taking out a new HELOC, may involve fees and costs that could offset some of the benefits.
In turn, it’s crucial to carefully evaluate your financial situation, future plans and ability to responsibly manage a higher credit limit before pursuing an increase in your HELOC. While access to additional funds can be beneficial, it’s important to strike a balance between meeting your financial needs and avoiding unnecessary risks or burdens.
The bottom line
It’s important to note that while increasing your HELOC limit is possible, lenders may also impose new terms and conditions on the higher limit. So, be sure to do all of your homework beforehand and fully understand the terms and requirements in order to make an educated decision for your finances. You should also carefully consider your reasons for increasing your HELOC limit and ensure that you have a solid plan for responsibly managing the additional credit. While home equity can provide a valuable source of funds, it’s best to approach it with caution and avoid overextending yourself financially.
It’s been said the best meals come from the heart, not from a recipe book. But at this USDA kitchen, there’s no pinch of this, dash of that, no dollops or smidgens of anything. Here, nutritionists in white coats painstakingly measure every single ingredient, down to the tenth of a gram.
Sheryn Stover is expected to eat every crumb of her pizza; any tiny morsels she does miss go back to the kitchen, where they’re scrutinized like evidence of some dietary crime.
Stover (or participant #8180, as she’s known) is one of some 10,000 volunteers enrolled in a $170 million nutrition study run by the National Institutes of Health. “At 78, not many people get to do studies that are going to affect a great amount of people, and I thought this was a great opportunity to do that,” she said.
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It’s called the Nutrition for Precision Health Study. “When I tell people about the study, the reaction usually is, ‘Oh, that’s so cool, can I do it?'” said coordinator Holly Nicastro.
She explained just what “precise” precisely means: “Precision nutrition means tailoring nutrition or dietary guidance to the individual.”
The government has long offered guidelines to help us eat better. In the 1940s we had the “Basic 7.” In the ’50s, the “Basic 4.” We’ve had the “Food Wheel,” the “Food Pyramid,” and currently, “My Plate.”
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They’re all well-intentioned, except they’re all based on averages – what works best for most people, most of the time. But according to Nicastro, there is no one best way to eat. “We know from virtually every nutrition study ever conducted, we have inner individual variability,” she said. “That means we have some people that are going to respond, and some people that aren’t. There’s no one-size-fits-all.”
The study’s participants, like Stover, are all being drawn from another NIH study program called All Of Us, a massive undertaking to create a database of at least a million people who are volunteering everything from their electronic health records to their DNA. It was from that All of Us research that Stover discovered she has the gene that makes some foods taste bitter, which could explain why she ate more of one kind of food than another.
Professor Sai Das, who oversees the study at Tufts University, says the goal of precision nutrition is to drill down even deeper into those individual differences. “We’re moving away from just saying everybody go do this, to being able to say, ‘Okay, if you have X, Y and Z characteristics, then you’re more likely to respond to a diet, and somebody else that has A, B and C characteristics will be responding to the diet differently,'” Das said.
It’s a big commitment for Stover, who is one of 150 people being paid to live at a handful of test sites around the country for six weeks – two weeks at a time. It’s so precise she can’t even go for a walk without a dietary chaperone. “Well, you could stop and buy candy … God forbid, you can’t do that!” she laughed.
While she’s here, everything from her resting metabolic rate, her body fat percentage, her bone mineral content, even the microbes in her gut (digested by a machine that essentially is a smart toilet paper reading device) are being analyzed for how hers may differ from someone else’s.
Nicastro said, “We really think that what’s going on in your poop is going to tell us a lot of information about your health and how you respond to food.”
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Stover says she doesn’t mind, except for the odd sounds the machine makes. While she is a live-in participant, thousands of others are participating from their homes, where electronic wearables track all kinds of health data, including special glasses that record everything they eat, activated when someone starts chewing. Artificial intelligence can then be used to determine not only which foods the person is eating, but how many calories are consumed.
This study is expected to be wrapped up by 2027, and because of it, we may indeed know not only to eat more fruits and vegetables, but what combination of foods is really best for us. The question that even Holly Nicastro can’t answer is, will we listen? “You can lead a horse to water; you can’t make them drink,” she said. “We can tailor the interventions all day. But one hypothesis I have is that if the guidance is tailored to the individual, it’s going to make that individual more likely to follow it, because this is for me, this was designed for me.”
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Story produced by Mark Hudspeth. Editor: Ed Givnish.
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