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Why you should open a HELOC this fall
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If you’re a homeowner looking for some extra financing right now, you have an easy way to get it – your home equity. Whether you pursue a cash-out refinance, a reverse mortgage, a home equity loan or home equity line of credit (HELOC), your home could serve as the cost-effective way to access money now. And considering that the average homeowner currently has hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equity to access now, there’s likely plenty of money available, regardless of what you need it for.
Like all credit options, however, the timing needs to be right to be valuable. Fortunately, this fall is a great time to tap into your home equity, particularly if you pursue a HELOC. Below, we’ll break down four reasons why you should strongly consider opening one this fall.
Start by seeing how much money you can access with a HELOC now.
Why you should open a HELOC this fall
Not sure if a HELOC is the preferred option for your financial situation now? Here’s why it may be smart to pursue this fall:
Lower interest rates than the alternatives
The average HELOC interest rate is just 9.32% right now. That’s multiple points lower than the average personal loan rate (which hovers around 12% currently) and credit cards (which are above 23% now). Because your home serves as collateral in these circumstances, lenders tend to offer lower rates than they would with popular alternatives. So save on interest and open a HELOC instead.
Get started with a low interest rate HELOC here now.
The potential for rates to fall further
HELOC interest rates are variable and subject to change as the rate climate does. This is a major advantage right now as interest rate cuts loom for the fall and in the months after. If they do, the rate you pay on a HELOC will automatically adjust downward (they typically change monthly). While this could be a risk in a different market, it’s worth taking now in the face of multiple, potential interest rate cuts to come.
Additional savings not available with a home equity loan
Not only can you save more with a HELOC versus a home equity loan now thanks to the latter’s variable rate nature, but you can also save some upfront costs. That’s because home equity loans will need to be refinanced to secure a new, lower available rate. And that refinancing will be costly (often 1% to 5% of the full loan value). But you’ll keep those additional savings with a HELOC because the rate will simply drop on its own, without the need for formal refinancing.
Tax benefits in 2025
Interest paid on HELOC is tax-deductible if utilized for IRS-eligible home repairs and renovations. So this fall will be the final season in which you can use the HELOC for these reasons if you want to get the write-off when you file your tax return in 2025. Any HELOC used for these purposes after December 2024 will have to wait until 2026 to be eligible for interest tax deductions. If you know you need the funds, then, and want to secure the tax benefit in 2025, then consider opening a HELOC this fall.
Learn more about your HELOC options online today.
The bottom line
If you’re looking for extra financing but don’t want to pay a high interest rate to get it, consider a HELOC this fall. This unique option comes with significantly lower rates than popular alternatives and it has the inherent ability to fall further as the interest rate environment continues to cool. This feature will also allow users to enjoy additional savings because they won’t have to pay for the refinancing closing costs they otherwise would have been burdened with by using a home equity loan. And, finally, if homeowners act this fall – and use the HELOC for eligible home repairs – they may be able to get a tax deduction when they file their return in 2025. Just be careful when using your home equity as a funding source as you could potentially lose the home in question if you can’t repay all that you’ve borrowed.
Frito-Lay is recalling a limited number of 13 oz. bags of Lay’s Classic Potato Chips after being alerted by a consumer contact that the product may contain undeclared milk.
The bags of chips affected by recall were distributed to certain retail stores and e-commerce distributors in Oregon and Washington and were available for sale beginning Nov. 3, 2024.
“Those with an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of a serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume the recalled product,” the Food and Drug Administration said in the recall notice posted Thursday.
No allergic reactions related to the recall have been reported, according to the recall. Additionally, no other Lay’s products, flavors, sizes or variety packs are affected.
FDA
The recalled chips include Lay’s Classic Potato Chips, in flexible 13 oz. (368.5 grams) bags with UPC code 28400 31041, a “Guaranteed Fresh” date of 11 Feb 2025, and one of either two manufacturing codes: 6462307xx or 6463307xx.
General guidelines from the FDA advise consumers who have purchased any recalled food to dispose of the product or return it to the retailer for a full refund.
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What is the debt ceiling? Here’s why Trump wants Congress to abolish it before he takes office
Washington — President-elect Donald Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance and billionaire Elon Musk blew up a GOP-backed deal to fund federal agencies into March, raising the pressure on Republican congressional leaders to craft a plan to avert a government shutdown just before the holidays.
In a statement Wednesday, Trump and Vance lambasted the agreement for including provisions favored by Democrats. But the incoming president and vice president also added a new, significant wrinkle to negotiations when they urged Congress to raise or abolish the debt ceiling now, instead of next year.
“Increasing the debt ceiling is not great but we’d rather do it on Biden’s watch,” Trump and Vance said in their statement. “If Democrats won’t cooperate on the debt ceiling now, what makes anyone think they would do it in June during our administration? Let’s have this debate now.”
What is the debt ceiling?
Set by Congress, the debt ceiling, or limit, is the maximum amount of money the U.S. Treasury is authorized to borrow to pay debts incurred by the federal government. Lifting the debt ceiling does not authorize new spending, but instead lets the government spend money on obligations that Congress has already been approved.
Failing to address the debt ceiling could lead the U.S. to default on its debt, which would have devastating effects on the economy. The government has never defaulted, and the Treasury typically uses accounting moves, known as “extraordinary measures,” to delay breaching the debt ceiling.
While raising the debt ceiling used to be routine, legislation addressing it has in recent years been used as leverage to force policy concessions and fuel debates over government spending.
Congress last addressed the debt ceiling in June 2023 as part of a legislative package negotiated by President Biden and then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. That deal suspended the debt ceiling through Jan., 1, 2025, ensuring any fight over it would take place after the 2024 elections.
The Treasury Department will likely implement extraordinary measures to stave off a default in the new year. It will also announce an “X date,” the estimated point at which the government will no longer be able to pay its obligations. The Economic Policy Innovation Center, a conservative think tank, projected in an analysis released Monday that it’s possible the debt limit will be reached by June 16.
While the Treasury Department’s use of extraordinary measures would give Congress more time to address the debt ceiling, Trump is now urging lawmakers to take action now, before he takes office.
Why does Trump want to raise the debt ceiling?
The president-elect will come into office with a legislative to-do list that includes securing the border and extending provisions of his signature Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was enacted in 2017 and overhauled the tax code. But a fight over the debt ceiling could complicate efforts by the Republican-led House and Senate to focus on those legislative initiatives and pass them quickly.
Trump is urging lawmakers to eliminate the debt ceiling altogether, a position that some prominent Democrats have endorsed in the past.
“Number one, the debt ceiling should be thrown out entirely,” Trump said in a phone interview Thursday with CBS News’ Robert Costa. “Number two, a lot of the different things they thought they’d receive [in a recently proposed spending deal] are now going to be thrown out, 100 percent. And we’ll see what happens. We’ll see whether or not we have a closure during the Biden administration. But if it’s going to take place, it’s going to take place during Biden, not during Trump.”
Trump separately told ABC News that “there won’t be anything approved unless the debt ceiling is done with,” indicating any spending deal to prevent a shutdown must address the debt limit.
“If we don’t get it, then we’re going to have a shutdown, but it’ll be a Biden shutdown, because shutdowns only [injure] the person who’s president,” he told ABC News.
Whether Republicans and Democrats would go along with such a plan, though, is far from clear. GOP lawmakers in both chambers have opposed raising the debt ceiling without spending reforms, and debates over the debt limit often give way to broader fights over the federal budget, which conservatives in Congress have said is bloated and should be reduced. Plus, Democrats still control the Senate and the White House.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement Wednesday that shutting down the government would harm families and endanger services Americans rely on.
“Republicans need to stop playing politics with this bipartisan agreement or they will hurt hardworking Americans and create instability across the country,” she said. “President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Vance ordered Republicans to shut down the government and they are threatening to do just that — while undermining communities recovering from disasters, farmers and ranchers, and community health centers.”
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries suggested Democrats would not go along with a plan pushed by Republicans to raise the debt limit.
“GOP extremists want House Democrats to raise the debt ceiling so that House Republicans can lower the amount of your Social Security check. Hard pass,” the New York Democrat wrote on the social media platform Bluesky.
Jeffries also told reporters “the debt limit issue and discussion is premature at best.”