You are a home owner. You have already mortgaged your house and unfortunately you have again fallen in financial need. You want a low rate secured loan, as you cant afford to pay heavy installments against the loan. You need not take any kind of stress as you can avail the benefits of a home equity loan.

It allows you to borrow money, using you homes equity as collateral. Home equity is also called as second mortgage because in this case you mortgage the equity of your house for the second time. For instance, if your unpaid mortgage balance is, say 75% of the value of your house, you can take a home equity loan on the remaining 25% of the value of your house. This value that is not covered by the mortgage amount is known as home equity.

The rates of interest on a home equity loan are much lower than the rates on unsecured loans. The monthly installments are also small and the repayment period is long. So you can use it to pay off all your outstanding debts in full and convert them into a single low rate home equity loan.

A home equity loan can be used for a number of purposes. It can be used for the renovation of your home. It can be used as a business loan. Lenders are reluctant to provide business loans, as the rate of failure of entrepreneurs is very high. A home equity loan being a secured loan reduces the risk for lenders so that they can offer such loans for business purposes. Home equity loans are also suitable for people having a bad credit history. Even if you have a poor credit background you can avail a home equity loan that will help you avoid paying a high rate of interest.

A home equity line of credit is another type of home equity loans. It works more like a credit card because it has a revolving balance. It allows you to borrow up to a certain amount for the life of the loan -- a time limit set by the lender. During that time, you can withdraw money, as you need it. As you pay off the principal, you can use the credit again, like a credit card.