in the current rising rate environment home equity lines of credit helocs are along for the ride continuing their upward trend heloc rates rose again this week to 474 from 471 for a 10year loan and 20year loans crossed the 7 threshold to 714 up from 660 the week prior according to data from bankrate as of may 23 indeed this is the 7th straight week that rates for 10year loans have increased you can see the lowest home equity rates you might qualify for here what you need to know about helocs helocs offer borrowers revolving lines of credit in the form of a loan that’s based on the amount of equity a homeowner has though commonly used for remodeling projects home repairs and large onetime expenses helocs can be used for anything that requires a large lump sum of money they’re especially popular for projects where you aren’t sure how much money you’ll need as you can just take the amount you need when you need it rather than having to take a lump sum   during the draw period which is typically the first 10 years of the loan you can take out the money you need and are only required to make interest payments though pros say it’s probably better to make payments on the principal if you’re able once the draw period ends and the repayment period typically 20 years begins money can no longer be extracted and both principal and interest payments must be made with the guarantee of one’s home on the line as collateral for the loan helocs tend to offer competitive interest rates compared to other loan types you can see the lowest home equity rates you might qualify for here this makes them a good choice for borrowers who need to pay off highinterest debt or who are beginning a renovation project that could change in scope and may require more or less money down the road when choosing a heloc keep in mind that they come with both fixed and variable rates variable rates are more common meaning borrowers may find themselves with low introductory rates that fluctuate over the life of the loan sometimes ending up higher in the long run with a variable rate than a fixed rate if you have a significant amount of equity in your home a heloc is generally easy to qualify for but ahead of applying for a heloc make sure you know exactly how much it’ll cost you helocs require appraisal fees application fees title search fees and more that get scraped off the top of the loan so it’s important to pad the loan with enough money that you can pay yourself back as soon as the loan funds how to get a heloc just because you have a hefty amount of equity in your home doesn’t mean you’ll get a huge payday when you take out a heloc in addition to your credit score and other financial factors lenders like to make sure borrowers maintain a 20 equity stake in their home so if you need more money than a heloc can provide it may be worth considering a loan that doesn’t require collateral still the best way to make sure you’re getting the most competitive rate based on your financial picture is to comparison shop and get quotes from 3 to 5 different lenders before applying for the loan