Heloc or Home Equity Loan for Small House Project

[Foosters 18286]

I've got these large French doors that lead out to my backyard. They've got to go. Looking at replacing with fiberglass frame and total project is going to be around 5k. Seems like either a HELOC or home equity loan would be the way to go.  About 2 years ago we took out a 30k Home equity loan for a new roof and some other projects so I have some experience with the process. With a much smaller amount, it seems like HELOC may be the way to go to avoid closing costs and fees? But IDK. Don't really know how that works. 

[justhookit 4206]

This is not how you humblebrag.

[Foosters 18286]

4 minutes ago, justhookit said:

This is not how you humblebrag.

You're right. Let me try again.

At my summer house my dumb servant-boy, Gilbert, accidentally broke my antique French Doors. I considered garnishing his wages, but I don't really pay him enough to make a dent, so I'm thinking about taking some money out of the house to replace them. And yes, I realize I could just sell one of my boats to cover the cost, but with a Regatta coming up, one can never have too many options.

Cheers.

[UTPhil2006 3930]

18 minutes ago, Foosters said:

I've got these large French doors that lead out to my backyard. They've got to go. Looking at replacing with fiberglass frame and total project is going to be around 5k. Seems like either a HELOC or home equity loan would be the way to go.  About 2 years ago we took out a 30k Home equity loan for a new roof and some other projects so I have some experience with the process. With a much smaller amount, it seems like HELOC may be the way to go to avoid closing costs and fees? But IDK. Don't really know how that works. 

Yeah definitely wouldn't be worth it for a home equity for that amount.  HELOC or similar low interest bank loan (credit union) is your best bet.

[UT_OB1 2266]

I hate WF but it was pretty easy to get a line of credit from Wells Fargo that wasn’t secured (not tied to your house or anything).  They are 20-100k if I remember correctly. Interest rate floats, but mine hasn’t been over 10.9 since we opened it.  

[Chewbacca 7830]

Why not just get a personal loan from the bank? Would be quicker than HELOC.

[beer 3294]

You will never sever ties with Wells Fargo.  Even if you close your account, they will not close it.  They are horrible people and should not be trifled with.  I still have a negative credit entry from them 22 years after closing a loan account and they continue to remove it, then re-enter it.  They are trying to collect fees and past due balance in excess of the original loan.  I have a document showing it was paid off, doesn't help. I would call anyone else. 

Edited November 18, 2021 by beer
spln

[Nice Guy Eddie 13741]

If you don't have the cash, look to secure a credit card that has a decent promo offer plus no interest for the first 12 or 18 months. 

For the 5K project, you might get a free flight in points, and then pay it off ASAP. In other words, you're not going to use that flight for a vacation until after the card is paid off.

Edited November 18, 2021 by Nice Guy Eddie

[Redneck Mutha 8200]

17 hours ago, Foosters said:

You're right. Let me try again.

At my summer house my dumb servant-boy, Gilbert, accidentally broke my antique French Doors. I considered garnishing his wages, but I don't really pay him enough to make a dent, so I'm thinking about taking some money out of the house to replace them. And yes, I realize I could just sell one of my boats to cover the cost, but with a Regatta coming up, one can never have too many options.

Cheers.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13741]

21 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

If you don't have the cash, look to secure a credit card that has a decent promo offer plus no interest for the first 12 or 18 months. 

For the 5K project, you might get a free flight in points, and then pay it off ASAP. In other words, you're not going to use that flight for a vacation until after the card is paid off.

To add to my suggestion, saving up the cash first is better than getting a new credit card. But if you have to get a credit card, make it a priority to pay it off within a few months at the longest. Then save $5K for the next home project.

[Jackson P. Neighbors 136]

Personal loan from a large bank will get you much better terms than a CC and will help your credit after repayment rather than likely dinging it down the road when total available credit is factored in (you likely won't close said CC after payment in all likelihood). 

As someone else mentioned, for $5k, save and pay cash.

[Bevo&Pevo 5527]

You could put some cash down on the Horns to win.

[Quagmire 2148]

5k? Open a savings account and wait

[Bevo 13904]

If your wife is hot, it might open up some other options. Can you post pics of your hot wife?

[Nice Guy Eddie 13741]

23 hours ago, Quagmire said:

5k? Open a savings account and wait

Exactly. if you don’t have 5k but are desperate for a home project, use that motivation to save 5k first.

psychologically it’s easy to think that the home project will only cost you $100/month. See if you still want it when you are planning to write a $5000 check. The $5000 might represent months of sacrifices and my guess is that you will see you don’t really want it.

[StruggleBus 3922]

You need to save money. Put the project off for a while.

[Spur08 384]

@UTPhil2006

What do you expect HELOC rates to do here in the short term (i.e. 90 days to 6 months)?  Roughly speaking, what rates are you currently seeing?