Table of Contents
- How do home equity loans and HELOCs work?
- What are the risks of home equity loans and HELOCs?
- How to protect yourself from the risks of home equity loans and HELOCs
- The bottom line
Money Home Equity
Article updated on Mar 27, 2023
Home equity loans and HELOCs can be cost-effective ways to unlock your home's equity, but they come with potential downsides, too.
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Written by Alix is a former CNET Money staff writer. She also previously reported on retirement and investing for Money.com and was a staff writer at Time magazine. Her work has also appeared in various publications, such as Fortune, InStyle and Travel + Leisure, and she also worked in social media and digital production at NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt and NY1. She graduated from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY and Villanova University. When not checking Twitter, Alix likes to hike, play tennis and watch her neighbors' dogs. Now based out of Los Angeles, Alix doesn't miss the New York City subway one bit. Katherine Watt Writer Katherine Watt is a CNET Money writer focusing on mortgages, home equity and banking. She previously wrote about personal finance for NextAdvisor. Based in New York, Katherine graduated summa cum laude from Colgate University with a bachelor's degree in English literature.
Edited by Marc Wojno Senior Editor Marc is senior editor at CNET Money, overseeing such topics as banking and home equity. He’s been a writer and editor in the financial field for more than two decades, including for such media organizations as The Kiplinger Washington Editors, U.S. News & World Report, Bankrate and Dow Jones. Before joining CNET Money, Wojno was Senior Editor of Finance for ZDNet, writing on blockchain, cryptocurrency, finserv, investing and taxes. Outside the digital world, Marc can be found spinning vinyl, threading reel-to-reel tapes, shooting film with his Bolex and hosting an occasional pub quiz.
CNET staff -- not advertisers, partners or business interests -- determine how we review the products and services we cover. If you buy through our links, we may get paid.
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Written by Alix Langone Reporter Alix is a former CNET Money staff writer. She also previously reported on retirement and investing for Money.com and was a staff writer at Time magazine. Her work has also appeared in various publications, such as Fortune, InStyle and Travel + Leisure, and she also worked in social media and digital production at NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt and NY1. She graduated from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY and Villanova University. When not checking Twitter, Alix likes to hike, play tennis and watch her neighbors' dogs. Now based out of Los Angeles, Alix doesn't miss the New York City subway one bit.
Katherine Watt
Writer
Katherine Watt is a CNET Money writer focusing on mortgages, home equity and banking. She previously wrote about personal finance for NextAdvisor. Based in New York, Katherine graduated summa cum laude from Colgate University with a bachelor's degree in English literature.
See full bioEdited by Marc Wojno Senior Editor Marc is senior editor at CNET Money, overseeing such topics as banking and home equity. He’s been a writer and editor in the financial field for more than two decades, including for such media organizations as The Kiplinger Washington Editors, U.S. News & World Report, Bankrate and Dow Jones. Before joining CNET Money, Wojno was Senior Editor of Finance for ZDNet, writing on blockchain, cryptocurrency, finserv, investing and taxes. Outside the digital world, Marc can be found spinning vinyl, threading reel-to-reel tapes, shooting film with his Bolex and hosting an occasional pub quiz.
CNET staff -- not advertisers, partners or business interests -- determine how we review the products and services we cover. If you buy through our links, we may get paid.
Reviews ethics statementWhy You Can Trust CNET Money
Table of Contents
- How do home equity loans and HELOCs work?
- What are the risks of home equity loans and HELOCs?
- How to protect yourself from the risks of home equity loans and HELOCs
- The bottom line
Read more from Alix
Alix is a former CNET Money staff writer. She also previously reported on retirement and investing for Money.com and was a staff writer at Time magazine. Her work has also appeared in various publications, such as Fortune, InStyle and Travel + Leisure, and she also worked in social media and digital production at NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt and NY1. She graduated from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY and Villanova University. When not checking Twitter, Alix likes to hike, play tennis and watch her neighbors' dogs. Now based out of Los Angeles, Alix doesn't miss the New York City subway one bit.
Written by
Katherine Watt
Writer
Read more from Katherine
Katherine Watt is a CNET Money writer focusing on mortgages, home equity and banking. She previously wrote about personal finance for NextAdvisor. Based in New York, Katherine graduated summa cum laude from Colgate University with a bachelor's degree in English literature.
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