Whether you own your home outright or have built equity by paying down your mortgage, your house is a valuable asset. Not only is it a safe place for you and your family to live, but it can also help pay for major costs like a college education.
With a home equity line of credit (HELOC), you can access the equity you hold in your property. Similar to a credit card, a HELOC offers a line of credit that can be used on an as-needed basis. This is an important difference from a home equity loan, which provides the loan amount requested as a single payment.
The flexibility offered by a line of credit can be especially valuable when dealing with a large cost broken into several installments. That includes college tuition and the many related needs, like room and board and textbooks. Instead of attempting to calculate college costs ahead of time and then relying on the lump sum provided by a loan to pay for them, you could use a HELOC throughout your child’s college experience to pay for financial obligations as they arise.
Our infographic “Using a HELOC in a College Funding Plan” offers four key points of guidance to keep in mind when considering how this line of credit can support your children’s educational goals. While far from the only way to manage college costs, a HELOC can work by itself or with other funding options, like loans and scholarships, to pay for tuition and a variety of related expenses.
Learn more about HELOCs and get in touch with Comerica Bank to learn about our HELOC offerings.
