HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit)
Also called: HELOC, home equity line of credit, home equity line
A HELOC is a revolving credit line secured against the equity in your home — you draw what you need, repay it, and draw again. Rates are usually variable and far below credit-card rates because your house is the collateral, which is also the entire risk: miss enough payments and the lender can foreclose. Most HELOCs run a 10-year draw period of interest-only payments followed by a 20-year repayment period, and the payment jump at that transition is the shock borrowers routinely fail to plan for.