Many financial institutions, banks, and other organizations offer home equity loans with different rates.Usually, the common thread connecting all home equity line of credit rates is their dependency on the prime rate, the index published in some major newspapers, or the US Treasury Bill rate.This remains the base rate for all financial institutions.However, with this, they charge an extra margin, which varies and makes interest rates differ from one company to the other.Margin rates vary from 1% to 2% to the prime rate or index value.Interest rates vary, with monthly installments changing from high to low or low to high, depending upon the prime rate at a particular time.However, there is a cap or limit on the interest rate changes, beyond which interest rates cannot rise.Research shows that it is extremely important for borrowers to adequately check and conduct an in-depth study on the fluctuations of the prime rates and the interest rates offered by different companies.An advantage of home loans is that they are usually tax-deductible.Some financial institutions offering good home equity lines of credit include E-loan, Bank of America, Flagstar Bank, Ditech, Merrill Lynch, E-rate, Net Bank, Charter One, World Savings, and Presidential Loan Products, among others.Some companies or financial institutes offer 'tease rates' during the initial months, and later shoot up their rates.For example, Net Bank provides a beginning rate of 6.25%, and then raises it to 7.25% APR thereafter.It can be confusing to choose the correct interest rate.It is quite easy to get fooled by misleading 'low' quotes which promise low monthly payments initially but can be demanding later on.Home equity lines of credit are good when compared to other interest rates of different loans.However, adequate research is essential before getting a home equity loan.

A challenge that many current homeowners face is that they do not want to sell now because this is such a bad market for sellers.Many people need the profit from their current home to be able to afford to buy another one.This is not so much a challenge, as it is an opportunity, if you have equity in your home and you know how to use it.Get a low interest rate home equity line of credit for the home that you are in.There are many opportunities for getting great home equity loans right now with no closing costs and outrageously low interest rates.I recently got a home equity line of credit from Regions bank.The rate is currently only 3.75% and carries interest only payment for 20 years (I pay more than just interest by choice, but it's good to have the option when it's a tight month).A $75,000 loan only carries a payment of less than $200/month!! You can actually purchase a home for less than $75,000! You can use the money from the HELOC in these ways..1)Take the full amount of the loan and buy a smaller home.You can get a 3BR house starting in the 30's, though the ones for at least $50K are more realistic investments.You could rent it out for 4 years with a cost of only $200/month toward your loan and maybe $250/month to taxes and insurance.Depending on what you buy, there's an excellent chance that you can DOUBLE your investment within 2-4 years just in the equity of the sale!2)Take money from an equity loan and use it toward the down payment on your dream home.Maybe you're ready for a larger house or you always wanted some property where you could keep a horse? Maybe you've always fantasized about owning waterfront property? Keep the house that you're in as an investment and rent it.Though you may not make much or any profit from the rental, you'll make plenty of money when you sell in a 2-4 years and you can still claim the interest on both loans against your taxes.3)Spend it on a vacation home.This is my favorite option.Beach properties are opportunities for short-term rentals- people visiting for a week or a month.This gives them higher income opportunity, allows you to use them yourself at least a couple of times a year, and qualifies for a second home tax credit.These buys will certainly balloon when values go up, making a tidy profit! If you're curious about such options, let me know and I'll be happy to give you some guidance and point you to decent resources.If you do decide to get an equity loan so that you can purchase something else, let me know.I don't do loans, but I can get you some good comps for the appraiser so that he values your current home as high as possible.Another option, depending on how much equity you have in your home, would be to sell now at the lower price because of how much you'll save on your new purchase.I consider this a less desirable option because of the missed opportunity for investment, but it's still an option.As a non-short sale/ no foreclosure home, you'll still have to compete with the prices of distressed sales, but your home will be more appealing to buyers and realtors because they won't have to deal with the short sale process.If your home is currently worth about $225K, but you could get $300K in a couple of years, that's down $75K, but you could possibly get a home at ½ its value (now only $250k, but later would cost $500K), so that would be a savings of $250K and a huge savings at the current interest rates.Even after you subtract the $75-$100k that you might be losing to sell now, you'd still be more than $175K ahead, not including the interest rate.Current rates are hovering at an unbelievable 4.78%!!To put that into perspective. If you owe $200K on your home loan, and you were paying a comfortable 6.5% (historically, this is a LOW rate), your principal & interest payments would be $1264.16/month, when compared with the current 4.78% which yields principal & interest payments of $1046.91/month.That's a savings of $217.25 each month and $78,210.Over the life of the loan!! If you were to keep this house until it's paid off, that would bring your total savings (minus the $75K lost to selling in a down market) as high as $253,000.That's more than the $250,000 you'd be paying for it in the first place.The drastic changes in the real estate market have illustrated very clearly that timing is everything.The economy is bad, so many people don't have the option of buying.If you do have the option of buying, it's foolish to wait.

If you are looking to buy a home then you are probably combing the classified ads every weekend in your local newspaper.There is one option that is out there that many people are opting for as a way to buy more house for the money and that is to buy a bank repossessed home.Bank repossessed homes are homes where the owners have failed to meet their monthly mortgage obligations.Defaulting on a loan can happen to just about anyone, and it doesn't matter what your income level.There are many famous people who had their homes foreclosed and this is not a phenomenon limited to those people with lower incomes.When a bank repossesses a home they become responsible for the obligations on it - property taxes, maintenance and upkeep, property insurance and even utilities.Owning real estate is not what banks are in business to do - they are in business to lend money, maintain deposit accounts, and the like.When a bank owns a property it is more times than not a hassle to them to do so.There become many options that are available for bank repossessed homes.One is known as a short sale.This is when the bank approves a sale of a property in default for less than the home is worth.The cost of the home is the amount owed to the bank on the mortgage loan (and second loan if there is a home equity loan on the property).The buyer in this situation is going to be the one with the advantages.The buyer is getting a home for well less than what it is worth, and often times it is a home that they never thought they would be able to afford in their wildest dreams.When the bank repossesses a home often it is put up for sale at auction.Going into this situation a buyer can get a really great value on a home.It might not be as good of a value as you would get with a short sale, but you are likely to purchase a home for much less than its appraised value.Where can you find bank repossessed homes? In all 50 states there are properties that have fallen into foreclosure.In 2010 more than one million homes in the US were foreclosed.Overall the most number of foreclosures fall into the following states. Nevada, Arizona, Florida and California.These four states provide a good opportunity for buyers looking to purchase a second home, vacation home, or even a retirement home.However, you can find bank repossessed homes in every state in the US.There are often negative feelings associated with buying a bank repossessed home, as if the buyer is preying on the bad luck of the previous owners.However, as a buyer you shouldn't feel badly if you do decide to purchase a foreclosed home.Any problems were between the previous owner and the mortgage lender, not you.You did not cause the home to go into foreclosure.All you are doing as the buyer of a repossessed home is trying to find a good deal for yourself and your family.

It is a tale of two Americas.Obama's opaque alternate re-election campaign is going on in New York and now Chicago, Los Angeles - and coming soon to a town near you.Occupy Wall Street, which has attracted everyone from Susan Sarandon, Michael Moore and Frances Fox Piven to many Ron Paulers, has tapped into many populist frustrations and sources of anger.Truth told, most Americans would likely agree with at least one of their gripes.Who likes corruption, unemployment, falling wages, the Federal Reserve Bank or bailouts?I have been following the organizers' websites for the past several months to get a handle on what it's all about.I also cast a net over the "usual suspects", those groups that would likely support such an action.Generally, one only has to copy a list of the logos belonging to the groups supportive of Barack Obama's 2008/2012 election bids and you have the list.For a refresher, you can go to Van Jones group - Rebuild the American Dream (rebuildthedream.Com), scroll down and see the players.For those unfamiliar, Van Jones was Mr.Obama's former Green Jobs Czar and an avowed communist.He has been closely associated with STORM (Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement), Green for All, Center for American Progress and many other socialist and progressive organizations, and has emerged as a key leader across the environmental, social and economic justice causes.This man is smart, creative and charismatic and one to watch.He is currently in Washington, D.C.As the keynote speaker for their multi-day Rebuild the American Dream forum.Look for their associated groups joining with the Occupy Wall Street protesters.According to Van Jones, "October is going to be the turning point when it comes to the Progressive fight back.".To add another twist to Occupy Wall Street, the hacker group Anonymous had promised to "erase NYSE from the Internet" on October 10th, and then today denied the plan.Unfortunately, this group has demonstrated many times its ability to shut down major networks.Whichever is the case, I imagine bankers and brokers in New York and elsewhere are feeling rather uneasy.Coming full circle back to the administration and Democratic leadership, we have these two tidbits earlier this week.Dick Durbin on the floor of the Senate calling on Bank of America customers to vote with their feet and close their BofA accounts over the bank's announcement to charge a $5.00 a month fee for their debit cards (a direct result of the Durbin Amendment to Dodd-Frank, price-fixing the fee banks charge merchants for debit card swipes, reducing them from $0.44 to $0.21 to $0.24).Bank run, anyone? The same day President Obama made the following statement during an interview with George Stephanopoulos.Obama was asked if the government can stop banks from imposing a new debit card fee on their customers."Well, you can stop it because.If you say to the banks, 'you don't have some inherent right just to -- you know, get a certain amount of profit if your customers are being mistreated.That you have to treat them fairly and transparently.'.So what are the protesters and supportive groups after with their Occupy Wall Street actions? Their website has now released their demand list.Let's take a look..Demand one. Restoration of the living wage.This demand can only be met by ending "Freetrade" by re-imposing trade tariffs on all imported goods entering the American market to level the playing field for domestic family farming and domestic manufacturing as most nations that are dumping cheap products onto the American market have radical wage and environmental regulation advantages.Another policy that must be instituted is raise the minimum wage to twenty dollars an hr.Demand two. Institute a universal single payer healthcare system.To do this all private insurers must be banned from the healthcare market as their only effect on the health of patients is to take money away from doctors, nurses and hospitals preventing them from doing their jobs and hand that money to wall st.Investors.Demand three. Guaranteed living wage income regardless of employment.Demand four. Free college education.Demand five. Begin a fast track process to bring the fossil fuel economy to an end while at the same bringing the alternative energy economy up to energy demand.Demand six. One trillion dollars in infrastructure (Water, Sewer, Rail, Roads and Bridges and Electrical Grid) spending now.Demand seven. One trillion dollars in ecological restoration planting forests, reestablishing wetlands and the natural flow of river systems and decommissioning of all of America's nuclear power plants.Demand eight. Racial and gender equal rights amendment.Demand nine. Open borders migration.Anyone can travel anywhere to work and live.Demand ten. Bring American elections up to international standards of a paper ballot precinct counted and recounted in front of an independent and party observers system.Demand eleven. Immediate across the board debt forgiveness for all.Debt forgiveness of sovereign debt, commercial loans, home mortgages, home equity loans, credit card debt, student loans and personal loans now! All debt must be stricken from the "Books." World Bank Loans to all Nations, Bank to Bank Debt and all Bonds and Margin Call Debt in the stock market including all Derivatives or Credit Default Swaps, all 65 trillion dollars of them must also be stricken from the "Books." And I don't mean debt that is in default, I mean all debt on the entire planet period.Demand twelve. Outlaw all credit reporting agencies.Demand thirteen. Allow all workers to sign a ballot at any time during a union organizing campaign or at any time that represents their yeah or nay to having a union represent them in collective bargaining or to form a union.These demands will create so many jobs it will be completely impossible to fill them without an open borders policy.(occupywallst.Org).We are indeed living in interesting times.Mr.Obama is crisscrossing the country energizing his base playing his class warfare game to sell his "Jobs Plan", while subtly feeding the Occupy Wall Street groups with his denigration of the banks and Wall Street types, his "tax the evil rich" fairness message, and his excoriation of all things carbon.The President seems to be moving toward a campaign theme of "values", essentially a watered down version of Roosevelt's Second Bill of Rights, mirroring many of Occupy Wall Street's demands.Note, too, that many of these same goals are in line with Rebuild the American Dream, the AFL-CIO, SEIU and many others.Obama's apparent campaign strategy is likely a good one, offering a clear counterpoint to the Tea Party movement and tapping into the widespread discontent in the country.These opposing views represent the two Americas.One can only hope that Americans will have the opportunity to make their choices known at the ballot box in November 2012, rather than have it determined on the streets of New York and elsewhere.So far, Van Jones is calling for these efforts to remain peaceful.Let's hope at least that lead will be followed.We have seen similar demonstrations in Greece, London and elsewhere get very ugly.Times are indeed tough with one out of four adult males either unemployed or underemployed.And with the schizophrenia coming out of Washington, the collapsing European Union and the slowing Chinese economy the political and economic landscapes are bound to get significantly worse over the next twelve months.We are all after "change we can believe in".We can only "hope" that change is for the better.Stay tuned.