 TITLE: What Is a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)? CONTENT: HELOC lenders let you borrow between 60% and 85% of your home's current assessed value, minus your remaining mortgage balance. For example, suppose your house is worth $350,000 and you still owe $110,000 on the mortgage. You have $240,000 in home equity, so you might be able to borrow as much as $204,000, depending on your income, your creditworthiness and other factors.\nDon't confuse a HELOC with a home equity loan. Home equity loans are installment loans, meaning you repay them over a set number of years at a fixed monthly payment and interest rate. A HELOC is revolving credit, like a credit card, so you can choose how much of the credit line to tap into. HELOCs generally have variable interest rates.\nTypically, you can draw on the line of credit for 10 years (called the \"draw period\"). During that time, you make interest-only payments on the amount you've borrowed, although some lenders will let you make payments on the loan principal too. When the draw period ends, the HELOC closes; at that point, you have to either repay the balance (generally over a 20-year period) or refinance the loan. END