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Accessing your home equity? Here’s what experts say to avoid doing
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Interest rates are high thanks to the Federal Reserve’s ongoing fight against inflation. While that’s nice for savings accounts, it’s not so great if you need to borrow money.
In fact, the average credit card rate right now is over 21%. Fortunately, not all financial products have rates that high. Home equity loans and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), for example, offer rates that are much lower on average — typically between 7 and 10%.
If you own a home, these home equity products could be smart ways to get the cash you need without racking up sky-high interest costs. But if you’re considering taking one out this year, be sure to avoid these four mistakes before applying.
Find out what today’s top home equity loan rates are here.
Accessing your home equity? Here’s what experts say to avoid doing
Here’s what experts say to avoid if you’re planning to borrow from your home’s equity:
Don’t apply for other credit
Never apply for a new credit card or loan if you’re hoping to get a home equity loan or HELOC soon. For one, doing so will result in a hard credit inquiry.
“Credit inquiries lower credit scores,” says Rebecca Franco, a financial counselor at Family Trust Credit Union. “A lower credit score could then affect the rate you qualify for and risk your chances of approval by shifting your debt-to-income ratio.”
Your debt-to-income ratio (DTI) is how much of your monthly income your debt payments take up. For home equity loans and HELOCs, you’ll usually need a DTI of 43% or lower. If you open a new account and take on more debt, it could put your DTI past this threshold.
Having a high DTI could also “substantially reduce the amount of the HELOC you can apply for,” says Jeremy Schachter, branch manager at Fairway Independent Mortgage.
Compare your home equity borrowing options now.
Don’t miss payments
Missing payments — on your mortgage, on your electric bill, or anything, really — is a big no-no, too, experts say. Mark Charnet, founder of American Prosperity Group, even calls it the No. 1 mistake to avoid.
“Do not have any late or missing payments on your file or credit history,” Charnet says. “Pay your primary mortgage payment on time and even a bit more than the minimum asked, as it makes you appear to be a stronger applicant.”
You should also put your other monthly debts and bills on autopay to ensure you’re not late. Late payments can reduce your credit score and make you look like a riskier borrower. This can mean a higher interest rate on your home equity loan or HELOC or getting denied altogether. (You’ll usually need at least a 620 score to get one of these loans, though some lenders may require higher.)
Don’t go on a spending spree
You shouldn’t make any big purchases or rack up credit card debt, either. Doing so could impact your DTI and credit score and make you look like a less responsible borrower.
“Banks can access your current credit as well as doing something called a refresh credit where they look at current balances and payments since you applied,” Schachter says. “If you had a zero balance on a credit card and then have $5,000 balance, this could decrease your chances for a loan approval.”
If possible, keep your spending low — or even cut some corners — in the time leading up to your loan application. This will pad your bank account and make your finances seem more solid.
“Lenders like to lend money to people who can document they do not actually need the funds, so make yourself look less needy in any way possible,” Charnet says.
Don’t leave your job
Finally, keep your income consistent. Lenders need to see that you will have the money to make your new payments — both now and in the future.
“Definitely don’t leave your job,” says Neil Christiansen, branch manager at Churchill Mortgage. “And do whatever you can to avoid losing it.”
If you get paid by the hour, make sure you don’t cut back on work hours in the time leading up to your application. You might also consider picking up extra shifts to increase your income. Even a slight bump could make it easier to qualify.
The bottom line
If getting a home equity loan or HELOC is a goal for this year, start preparing today. Work on reducing your debts, and keep your spending in check. You can also pull your credit score and work to increase it if it’s less than ideal, HIgher credit scores make it easier to qualify and typically lead to lower interest rates.
CBS News
A week before Texas mom Alyssa Burkett’s murder, the killer received a text: “I hope you handle it”
After Alyssa Burkett was murdered, detectives quickly learned that the prime suspect was the father of her child, Andrew Beard. But as the investigation unfolded, they would find out that Beard wasn’t the only one involved in the murder plot.
Take a look inside the investigation.
Oct. 2, 2020 | 9 a.m.
Carrollton Police Department
Shortly after 24-year-old Alyssa Burkett pulled into her parking space at work in Carrollton, Texas, a man with a gun shot her in the head through her car window and fled.
Carrollton Police Department
Burkett survived the gun blast, got out of her car and tried to get help. Her bloody hand left a print on the office window.
The assailant saw Burkett running and chased after her. He stabbed and slashed Alyssa 44 times and left the scene in his black SUV.
Lizatte Bowers/Alyssa Burkett, Facebook
When Burkett’s mother, Teresa Collard, arrived at the scene, she immediately gave detectives a name: Andrew Beard. Beard was the father of Burkett’s 1-year-old child, Willow.
Oct. 2, 2020 | 12 p.m.
Carrollton Police Department
Hours after the murder, police officers stopped Beard in his white Ford F-150 pickup truck. His fiancée, Holly Elkins, and baby Willow were with him. Beard was told he could leave the scene, but he couldn’t return home. Officers also seized his pickup truck.
Oct. 2, 2020 | 9 p.m.
Carrollton Police Department
Later that night, police searched Beard’s home and found a GPS tracker battery and charging stations that matched a tracking device detectives discovered under Burkett’s car earlier that day.
Carrollton Police Department
Investigators also uncovered what they believed to be an unregistered gun silencer.
Oct. 3, 2020 | 12 p.m.
Carrollton Police Department
The next day, detectives searched Beard’s white F-150 pickup truck and found a backpack. Inside, they uncovered two bottles of dark brown makeup, and a pair of men’s hiking boots that had been cut into pieces and were soaking in bleach.
Oct. 3, 2020
Carrollton Police Department
Later that night, police located that black Ford SUV the assailant drove to the scene. It was found abandoned less than a mile from Beard’s house.
Carrolton Police Department
When detectives searched the SUV, they found a fake beard smeared with dark brown makeup.
Oct. 5, 2020
Carrolton Police Department
When Beard learned there was a warrant for his arrest, he turned himself in to the Carrollton Police Department. He was charged with murder.
Oct. 6, 2020
Beard’s fiancée, Holly Elkins, voluntarily went to speak with detectives at the Carrollton Police Department.
Carrolton Police Department
During the interview, Elkins told investigators that Beard was at home with her on the morning of the murder. She also described herself as a “stage 5 clinger girlfriend,” and said she would have known if Beard left the house that morning.
Oct. 6, 2020 | 1:30 p.m.
Carrollton Police Department
After her interview, investigators said Elkins made the following internet searches:
“Can I not be brought to court if I have a psychiatrist note?”
“vulnerable patients going to court”
“contact psychiatrist in Dallas”
“Can I not be subpoenaed to jail if I have a mental issue?”
Oct. 29, 2020
Beard spent two weeks behind bars before he was released on bond. Carrollton Police Det. Jeremy Chevallier said he was worried about baby Willow’s safety, so he reached out to the federal government to take the case under federal firearm laws.
Because detectives found an unregistered silencer during the search of Beard’s home, the federal government agreed to take the case.
Carrollton Police Department
Eight days after he bonded out, Beard was rearrested and ultimately charged with cyberstalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in death.
July 15, 2022
In June 2022, Beard pleaded guilty to cyberstalking and using a dangerous weapon resulting in death.
FBI
One month later, he spoke to the FBI as part of a plea deal. And he had a lot to say about Elkins’ involvement in Burkett’s murder.
“…It was…’this is how you’re gonna do this,’ it was, ‘… you’re gonna wear this dark makeup …’ That was her plan…that’s how it’s gonna be done,” Beard told the FBI.
May 24, 2023
Beard was sentenced to 43 years in federal prison.
June 21, 2023
After speaking with Beard, the FBI spent about a year building a case against Elkins.
Investigators found internet searches and a Walgreens receipt that connected her to the crime.
Carrollton Police Department
They also dug into text messages between Elkins and Beard. In a text sent to Beard one week before Burkett’s murder, Elkins wrote, “I hope you handle it I’m not coming home to b**s***”
Elkins was indicted on three charges: conspiracy to stalk, stalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in serious bodily injury and death and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.
July 6, 2023
Johnson County Sheriff’s Office
Elkins was arrested at the Miami airport by federal agents after returning from a trip to the Dominican Republic.
April 9 – 16, 2024
Lizette Bowers
Elkins’ trial began at the federal courthouse in downtown Dallas. After six days, the case went to the jury.
April 17, 2024
Stephen Green
The jury deliberated for about an hour-and-a-half before they found Elkins guilty on all counts. On Aug. 15, 2024, Elkins was sentenced to two life terms.
CBS News
A week before Texas mom Alyssa Burkett’s murder, the killer received a text: “I hope you handle it”
After Alyssa Burkett was murdered, detectives quickly learned that the prime suspect was the father of her child, Andrew Beard. But as the investigation unfolded, they would find out that Beard wasn’t the only one involved in the murder plot.
Take a look inside the investigation.
Oct. 2, 2020 | 9 a.m.
Carrollton Police Department
Shortly after 24-year-old Alyssa Burkett pulled into her parking space at work in Carrollton, Texas, a man with a gun shot her in the head through her car window and fled.
Carrollton Police Department
Burkett survived the gun blast, got out of her car and tried to get help. Her bloody hand left a print on the office window.
The assailant saw Burkett running and chased after her. He stabbed and slashed Alyssa 44 times and left the scene in his black SUV.
Lizatte Bowers/Alyssa Burkett, Facebook
When Burkett’s mother, Teresa Collard, arrived at the scene, she immediately gave detectives a name: Andrew Beard. Beard was the father of Burkett’s 1-year-old child, Willow.
Oct. 2, 2020 | 12 p.m.
Carrollton Police Department
Hours after the murder, police officers stopped Beard in his white Ford F-150 pickup truck. His fiancée, Holly Elkins, and baby Willow were with him. Beard was told he could leave the scene, but he couldn’t return home. Officers also seized his pickup truck.
Oct. 2, 2020 | 9 p.m.
Carrollton Police Department
Later that night, police searched Beard’s home and found a GPS tracker battery and charging stations that matched a tracking device detectives discovered under Burkett’s car earlier that day.
Carrollton Police Department
Investigators also uncovered what they believed to be an unregistered gun silencer.
Oct. 3, 2020 | 12 p.m.
Carrollton Police Department
The next day, detectives searched Beard’s white F-150 pickup truck and found a backpack. Inside, they uncovered two bottles of dark brown makeup, and a pair of men’s hiking boots that had been cut into pieces and were soaking in bleach.
Oct. 3, 2020
Carrollton Police Department
Later that night, police located that black Ford SUV the assailant drove to the scene. It was found abandoned less than a mile from Beard’s house.
Carrolton Police Department
When detectives searched the SUV, they found a fake beard smeared with dark brown makeup.
Oct. 5, 2020
Carrolton Police Department
When Beard learned there was a warrant for his arrest, he turned himself in to the Carrollton Police Department. He was charged with murder.
Oct. 6, 2020
Beard’s fiancée, Holly Elkins, voluntarily went to speak with detectives at the Carrollton Police Department.
Carrolton Police Department
During the interview, Elkins told investigators that Beard was at home with her on the morning of the murder. She also described herself as a “stage 5 clinger girlfriend,” and said she would have known if Beard left the house that morning.
Oct. 6, 2020 | 1:30 p.m.
Carrollton Police Department
After her interview, investigators said Elkins made the following internet searches:
“Can I not be brought to court if I have a psychiatrist note?”
“vulnerable patients going to court”
“contact psychiatrist in Dallas”
“Can I not be subpoenaed to jail if I have a mental issue?”
Oct. 29, 2020
Beard spent two weeks behind bars before he was released on bond. Carrollton Police Det. Jeremy Chevallier said he was worried about baby Willow’s safety, so he reached out to the federal government to take the case under federal firearm laws.
Because detectives found an unregistered silencer during the search of Beard’s home, the federal government agreed to take the case.
Carrollton Police Department
Eight days after he bonded out, Beard was rearrested and ultimately charged with cyberstalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in death.
July 15, 2022
In June 2022, Beard pleaded guilty to cyberstalking and using a dangerous weapon resulting in death.
FBI
One month later, he spoke to the FBI as part of a plea deal. And he had a lot to say about Elkins’ involvement in Burkett’s murder.
“…It was…’this is how you’re gonna do this,’ it was, ‘… you’re gonna wear this dark makeup …’ That was her plan…that’s how it’s gonna be done,” Beard told the FBI.
May 24, 2023
Beard was sentenced to 43 years in federal prison.
June 21, 2023
After speaking with Beard, the FBI spent about a year building a case against Elkins.
Investigators found internet searches and a Walgreens receipt that connected her to the crime.
Carrollton Police Department
They also dug into text messages between Elkins and Beard. In a text sent to Beard one week before Burkett’s murder, Elkins wrote, “I hope you handle it I’m not coming home to b**s***”
Elkins was indicted on three charges: conspiracy to stalk, stalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in serious bodily injury and death and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.
July 6, 2023
Johnson County Sheriff’s Office
Elkins was arrested at the Miami airport by federal agents after returning from a trip to the Dominican Republic.
April 9 – 16, 2024
Lizette Bowers
Elkins’ trial began at the federal courthouse in downtown Dallas. After six days, the case went to the jury.
April 17, 2024
Stephen Green
The jury deliberated for about an hour-and-a-half before they found Elkins guilty on all counts. On Aug. 15, 2024, Elkins was sentenced to two life terms.
President-elect Trump on Friday named Karoline Leavitt, his campaign press secretary, to serve as his White House press secretary.
Leavitt, 27, currently a spokesperson for Trump’s transition, would be the youngest White House press secretary in history. Previously that distinction went to Ronald Ziegler, who was 29 when he took the position in 1969 in Richard Nixon’s administration.
“Karoline Leavitt did a phenomenal job as the National Press Secretary on my Historic Campaign, and I am pleased to announce she will serve as White House Press Secretary,” Trump said in a statement. “Karoline is smart, tough, and has proven to be a highly effective communicator. I have the utmost confidence she will excel at the podium, and help deliver our message to the American People as we Make America Great Again.”
Leavitt replied in a post on X, formerly Twitter: “Thank you, President Trump, for believing in me. I am humbled and honored. Let’s MAGA,” the acronym for “Make America Great Again.”
The White House press secretary typically serves as the public face of the administration and historically has held daily briefings for the press corps.
MEGA
Trump disrupted those norms in his first term, preferring to serve as his own chief spokesperson. While he was president from 2017 to 2021, Trump had four press secretaries but frequently preferred to engage directly with the public, from his rallies, social media posts and his own briefings.
At a news conference this past August, Trump was asked if he’d have regular press briefings in his new administration. He told reporters, “I will give you total access and you’ll have a lot of press briefings and you’ll have, uh, from me.”
When it came to a press secretary, he said: “Probably they’ll do something. If it’s not daily, it’s going to be a lot. You’ll have more than you want.”
Leavitt, a New Hampshire native, is seen as a staunch and camera-ready advocate for Trump who is quick on her feet and delivers aggressive defenses of the Republican in television interviews.
She worked as a spokesperson for MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting Trump, before joining his 2024 campaign. In 2022, she ran for Congress in New Hampshire, winning a 10-way Republican primary before losing to incumbent Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas.
During Trump’s first term in office, Leavitt worked in the White House press office. She then became communications director for New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, whom Trump has tapped to serve as his U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Trump’s first press secretaries, Sean Spicer and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, were known for quarreling with reporters. Another, Stephanie Grisham, never held a briefing. Her successor, Kayleigh McEnany, often lectured the news media during her appearances in the White House press briefing room.
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