Ran into something interesting earlier today—did you guys know that with a HELOC, the interest rates usually vary over time, while home equity loans typically have fixed rates? I honestly thought they were pretty much interchangeable, but turns out the differences are pretty significant depending on what you're planning to do with the money. Kinda makes sense now why my cousin kept complaining about his payments fluctuating. Curious if anyone else stumbled across other surprising details like this...
You're totally right about HELOC rates fluctuating—caught me off guard too when I first refinanced a few years back. I went with a fixed-rate home equity loan to fund some home improvements precisely because I didn't want any surprises in my monthly budget. One thing people often overlook is how repayment terms differ: HELOCs usually have interest-only phases, which can be tempting but tricky down the line...definitely learned that lesson the hard way.
Good point about the interest-only phases being tricky...seen a few clients underestimate that myself. Curious, did you compare total interest costs over the life of the loan when choosing fixed vs HELOC? Sometimes the numbers surprise people.
