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3 home equity moves to make before the July Fed meeting
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Home equity loans and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) have been two of the most cost-effective borrowing options to explore in recent years. Thanks to the home in question serving as collateral, lenders have offered borrowers significantly lower interest rates than they otherwise would have been secured with alternative options like credit cards and personal loans.
The timing surrounding a home equity loan application, however, is critical to get right. And with a consistently cooling inflation rate (the latest report showed it dropping again in June) and the next Federal Reserve meeting to discuss interest rates set to begin on July 30, now could be a smart time to pursue this unique credit option.
However, borrowers will need to take a strategic approach to reduce costs and secure a low rate. Below, we’ll break down three smart home equity moves homeowners should make before the July Fed meeting begins.
Start by seeing what home equity loan rate you could secure online now.
3 home equity moves to make before the July Fed meeting
The average homeowner has around $300,000 worth of home equity right now. Here are three smart ways they can go about accessing with the next Federal Reserve meeting looming:
Shop for lenders
While rates may formally be cut in September, an official reduction in the federal funds rate doesn’t need to take place for lenders to start offering lower interest rates. They can do so now and may start to if it looks like the July Fed meeting will be the final one before rates are cut. So it makes sense to start shopping for lenders now, before July 30. Most lenders will offer rates similar to one another but they won’t necessarily be identical and every percentage point and quarter of a percentage point can result in significant savings. So start shopping for lenders now and remember that you don’t need to use the same bank you have your current mortgage loan with.
Shop for top home equity lenders here today.
Be prepared to act
A loan application isn’t something you should submit freely. You’ll want to have shopped around for lenders first, have a clear understanding of your financial needs and goals and have boosted your credit score as much as possible. But with select upcoming dates likely to affect what rates and terms you’re offered, it makes sense to complete all of the above actions now so you’re prepared to act quickly. A delay could result in less attractive offers.
Open a HELOC instead of a home equity loan
A home equity loan, thanks to its fixed-rate feature, is the smart option in a climate in which rates are increasing. But now, following three consecutive reports showing inflation cooling and with the rate barely above the Federal Reserve’s target 2% goal, rates are likely to be cut soon. While that may not happen in July, the CME FedWatch tool has it pegged at a more than 90% likelihood for September.
Home equity borrowers, then, should open a HELOC instead of a home equity loan heading into the July Fed meeting. The former has a variable rate subject to fall as rates do. Home equity loans, meanwhile, have fixed rates that will need to be refinanced (and paid for via closing costs) in order to fall. So, right now, it’s typically smarter to pursue a HELOC to better position yourself for savings in the second half of the year and into 2025.
Explore your HELOC options online now.
The bottom line
With the likelihood of a lower rate climate growing each day, homeowners looking to borrow from their accumulated home equity should take some strategic approaches now, before the Federal Reserve meets again at the end of the month. So start shopping for lenders now, get ready to act so that you can secure a low-rate option when discovered, and consider a HELOC over the fixed-rate nature of a home equity loan. By making these moves now, borrowers will position themselves for financial success both now and over the lifespan of their loan or line of credit.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The U.S. Justice Department is demanding records related to the July shooting death of Sonya Massey — an Illinois woman who was killed in her home by a sheriff’s deputy — as it investigates how local authorities treat Black residents and people with behavioral disabilities.
The government made a list of demands in dozens of categories in a letter to the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office, dated Thursday.
“The Sheriff’s Office, along with involved county agencies, has engaged in discussions and pledged full cooperation with the Department of Justice in its review,” Sangamon County Sheriff Paula Crouch said Friday.
Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman, was killed July 6 when deputies responded to a call about a possible prowler at her home in Springfield, Illinois. She was shot three times during a confrontation with an officer.
The alleged shooter, Sean Grayson, who is White, was fired. He is charged with murder and other crimes and has pleaded not guilty.
“The Justice Department, among other requests, wants to know if the sheriff’s office has strategies for responding to people in “behavioral health crises,” the government’s letter read. “…The incident raises serious concerns about…interactions with Black people and people with behavioral health disabilities.”
Andy Van Meter, chairman of the Sangamon County Board, said the Justice Department’s review is an important step in strengthening the public’s trust in the sheriff’s office.
At the time of the fatal shooting, the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office was led by then-Sheriff Jack Campbell, who retired in August and was replaced by Crouch.
Deputy Sean Grayson’s history of misconduct
Grayson has worked for six different law enforcement agencies in Illinois since 2020, CBS News learned. He was also discharged from the Army in February 2016 after serving for about 19 months. He was hired by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office in May 2023.
In an interview with CBS News in early August, Campbell said that Grayson “had all the training he needed. He just didn’t use it.”
In a recording released by the Logan County Sheriff’s Office, where Grayson worked from May 2022 to April 2023, a supervising officer is heard warning Grayson for what the senior officer said was his lack of integrity, for lying in his reports, and for what he called “official misconduct.”
Girard Police Chief Wayman Meredith recalled an alleged incident in 2023 when he said an enraged Grayson was pressuring him to call child protective services on a woman outside of Grayson’s mother’s home. He said Grayson was “acting like a bully.”
The recording and Meredith’s description of Grayson’s conduct showed how he quickly became angry and, according to documents, willing to abuse his power as an officer.
Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office history of accusations
According to a review of court records in 2007, Massey’s killing was the only criminal case in recent history against a Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office deputy for actions on duty. Local officials characterized her shooting as an aberration.
However, CBS News obtained thousands of pages of law enforcement files, medical and court records, as well as photo and video evidence that indicated the office had a history of misconduct allegations and accountability failures before Grayson. The records challenged the claim that Massey’s death was, as said by the then-sheriff, an isolated incident by one “rogue individual.”
Local families were confident that Massey’s death was the latest in a pattern of brazen abuse that has gone unchecked for years.
Attorneys for Massey’s family recommended an updated SAFE-T Act that would expand an existing database used to track officer misconduct to include infractions like DUIs and speeding during police chases.
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