The Benefits of Home Ownership?

[cramx3]

Do what I did when I took down the wasp nest that was being built on the side of my house.... wear a few layers of clothes and don't have any skin open to be bitten.   

[Grappler]

Do what I did when I took down the wasp nest that was being built on the side of my house.... wear a few layers of clothes and don't have any skin open to be bitten.   

I've done that as well.  My wife wants to respect the law since it's a protected species and because bats eat mosquitos.  She also doesn't want me to risk being bitten since we have kids.  I don't mind fighting wasps or mice, but sometimes it's best to leave certain animals to the professionals.  I was just shocked to find out that something I consider to be a pest can only be removed from an attic during a certain period of time throughout the year.

[lordxizor]

My daughter has been hearing "footsteps" at night.  Yesterday, she said she heard it above her room, in the attic.  We've had a mouse issue in the attic over the garage and I know the prior homeowners had mice in the second story attic.  So I was going to take a few mouse traps in that attic to see if I caught anything.  I go up there yesterday evening and as I'm looking around, I look up to see this....



I have a bat in my attic!  I thought it was a dead mouse at first, until I saw the wings on the side.  I quickly took a picture and closed up the attic before it could wake up.  I think I heard it bang around into some metal vents and ductwork at 4:45am today.  I called some wildlife companies for removal and they all told me that by law, they can't touch the bat until the spring because of the dwindling population of bats.  I can only have it removed if it gets into the living space of the home.

I'm amazed that I have to leave the thing alone and let a pest hibernate in my own attic through the winter and then get it removed in the spring.  Meanwhile, I have to hope that it doesn't find a way into the living space of my home.

Can you figure out where it's getting in? If so, wait for it to fly out when it gets dark, seal it up, and it'll be stuck outside and will need to find a new home. Assuming it's going out at night. If it's not it will die before too long.

[gmillerdrake]

Totally 'get' the need to rid the bat from your house.....the feces is not a good thing and you don't want them to make camp in your attic.

BUT.....it's good to have bats around. Those things eat literally multiple thousands of insects and mosquitos a night. I installed a 'bat house' in a very large tree behind my house on the edge of the wood line. Far enough away that they're not a nuisance but close enough to where they devour the pest insects at night.

[Grappler]

Can you figure out where it's getting in? If so, wait for it to fly out when it gets dark, seal it up, and it'll be stuck outside and will need to find a new home. Assuming it's going out at night. If it's not it will die before too long.
[/quote]

No, and there could be tons of areas where it is getting in - the house used to be wood.  I've been dealing with woodpeckers making holes in some of the wood trim pieces around the windows and having to repair those holes.  When I'm in the attic, I can see areas where there were holes in the wood that haven't been repaired, and the vinyl siding is the only covering.  So if something can get under the siding, it can work its way up to the second floor and enter the attic through numerous gaps and holes.   

The prior owners of this house didn't really keep up with things like that.  I'll eventually get to it as time allows.  Right now, I don't have much of an interest in going up in the attic while the bat is still there.   

[Grappler]

Update - the bat is gone.  The wildlife company came over to give me a quote and put me on a list for spring-time bat removal.  When the guy went up in the attic to look it over, he said there was a little guano, but not much.  The bat was in the same spot, just hanging from the peak and sleeping.  He looked at me and asked if it was ok if he removed it right then.  I told him to go ahead!   

He thinks it was just a fluke and likely just had one bat up there as opposed to an infestation or a colony that had been roosting.  He did lay out some paper underneath the peak, in case some bats burrowed under the insulation to hibernate.  If they come out in the spring, we'll see clear evidence of droppings on the paper. 

Cost $225, but I was happy to be rid of the critter and now I can do some work up there this winter to fix some things that I want to address. 

[jingle.boy]

Good news

[Harmony]

Do you have a bomb shelter?

I finally have a basement, one step at a time!

Cool idea.....pretty neat thing for the cats to have access to.

Yeah, really looking forward to seeing the two boys enjoy it!

I can't see the pics!

Hmm, weird, I'll make an album for you: https://photos.app.goo.gl/J3XRLcFAPEBWHFQf8

And that actually includes all pictures thus far, not just the few I posted.

Love this!  I said on the cat appreciation thread that we are considering making one as part of our next remodeling phase.  We still have to run it by our contractor though.  We may have to wait until we redo the deck but we can at least work on getting the doors installed.  Any advice for the planning phase and things to consider that we probably haven't yet?

How are the cats enjoying it?

[faizoff]

Do you guys have any smart devices hooked up to your home? After closing our home, I went through what all our previous owners had set up. They had a smart thermostat from American Standard for their AC and an LG oven that can connect via their app. We then bought more smart enabled appliances with Google Nest cams, doorbell and speakers. Also added LG washer and dryer that connects to the LG app as well.

I tested out one of those smart bulbs for a lamp and it's pretty cool how you can control the brightness, color temperature, etc.. They do cost more than the regular bulbs and I'm not going to bother with the rest of the house with those smart bulbs.

The amount of options available is insane and the sky is the limit with these things. Any here set anything up for their home?

[hefdaddy42]

My wife is in the field of risk and compliance, so we will never ever have a lot of smart devices in our home.

[Stadler]

We have a fair amount and like them.  That said, the sooner that companies like Xfinity can have two wi-fi nets in a house the better.  It's a pain to manage.

[ReaperKK]

Do you guys have any smart devices hooked up to your home? After closing our home, I went through what all our previous owners had set up. They had a smart thermostat from American Standard for their AC and an LG oven that can connect via their app. We then bought more smart enabled appliances with Google Nest cams, doorbell and speakers. Also added LG washer and dryer that connects to the LG app as well.

I tested out one of those smart bulbs for a lamp and it's pretty cool how you can control the brightness, color temperature, etc.. They do cost more than the regular bulbs and I'm not going to bother with the rest of the house with those smart bulbs.

The amount of options available is insane and the sky is the limit with these things. Any here set anything up for their home?

The only things I can think of is one Alexa in the bedroom, our security system, and half the house has Philips smart bulbs which are awesome.

[Grappler]

I hate smart devices.  I don't want to control a lot of things from my house via my phone, and I don't want a lot hooked up to the internet where it could get hacked (or if I lose my phone, someone would have access to my front door, etc.).  I don't mind being old school when it comes to home safety.

[Chino]

The only smart devices I have are a few outlets in my workshop that allow me to shut down my 3D printers remotely. I have a pet cam facing my printing wall that I can view from my phone, and I can remote shut down if I'm not home and I observe a problem.

[faizoff]

My wife is in the field of risk and compliance, so we will never ever have a lot of smart devices in our home.

Any particular examples you can mention that has red flags for compliance and risk issues?

[Nick]

Do you have a bomb shelter?

I finally have a basement, one step at a time!

Cool idea.....pretty neat thing for the cats to have access to.

Yeah, really looking forward to seeing the two boys enjoy it!

I can't see the pics!

Hmm, weird, I'll make an album for you: https://photos.app.goo.gl/J3XRLcFAPEBWHFQf8

And that actually includes all pictures thus far, not just the few I posted.

Love this!  I said on the cat appreciation thread that we are considering making one as part of our next remodeling phase.  We still have to run it by our contractor though.  We may have to wait until we redo the deck but we can at least work on getting the doors installed.  Any advice for the planning phase and things to consider that we probably haven't yet?

How are the cats enjoying it?

Two cats thus far are absolutely loving it. One in particular will go out even in the rain and/or really cold. Hell, one morning he hopped in the shower with me, got soaked, and 10 minutes later was out there in 40 degree weather.

As far as things to consider, I'd say the one thing I kind of screwed up, or might redo a bit is how I connected the catio to the house. Probably less of an issue if you put it right up against. The other thing is know going in if you want an open roof like I have or want an actual roof. If the latter you'll want clear for sunlight, but then have to worry about sloping and knowing how to put that on correctly. And keep in mind, I have no formal training in building or most of what I'm doing, so a lot of winging it, and there are probably a few things I didn't consider in this.

Do you guys have any smart devices hooked up to your home? After closing our home, I went through what all our previous owners had set up. They had a smart thermostat from American Standard for their AC and an LG oven that can connect via their app. We then bought more smart enabled appliances with Google Nest cams, doorbell and speakers. Also added LG washer and dryer that connects to the LG app as well.

I tested out one of those smart bulbs for a lamp and it's pretty cool how you can control the brightness, color temperature, etc.. They do cost more than the regular bulbs and I'm not going to bother with the rest of the house with those smart bulbs.

The amount of options available is insane and the sky is the limit with these things. Any here set anything up for their home?

I re-built my smart home within a month of moving in to our new house. Couple of key components:

Smart Hub: Used Wink in the past and SmartThings now, spend a few $ to get a good hub so you have full Z-Wave/Zigbee support. Will greatly increase your product availability as opposed to relying on WiFi.

Smart Lock: I use Schlage Connect. Hate having to use keys, haven't used a home key in 5 years. My car doesn't use a key. I keep 1 key in my wallet for the main door at work and that's it.

Smart Switches: You can use bulbs for temperature/brightness control, but I greatly prefer wiring in smart switches (using Zigbee GE switches right now) for lighting control so you still easily have a normal switch option as well as smart control.

Smart Doorbell: Used to use Ring, but have happily switches to Nest on the new home. Been working great, and I have the version for homes without doorbell wiring.

Smart Thermostat: Used Nest previously, but heating system in the new house is primarily a pellet stove which doesn't work with that. However if your system is compatible, highly recommend Nest. 

Smart Cameras: Wyze. Dirt cheap good cameras. Doesn't integrate as well with other stuff, but for $20 you can basically get a constant feed on anything.

My favorite thing about pulling it all together is automations and routines. I have a 4 button widget on my phone. First one is for leaving the house, shuts off all lights and locks the doors. Next is for coming home during the day, just unlocks the back door. Then for coming home at night, unlocks and turns on certain lights. And finally sleep, which locks doors and turns off all switches except for the bedroom fan. And all those can be voice command activated as well. I suppose I should have noted earlier almost every room as a Google mini, speaker, or screen hub. Kitchen in particular has one with a screen that makes cooking and setting timers super helpful.

Lastly I can smart link certain things, in the new house that has been helpful on some lights that should go together, but are wired on different switches. So on the smart end of things I'm able to link them so if one turns on/off it sends a command to the other to do the same, and like magic it's like they are on the same switch.

[Orbert]

I hate smart devices.  I don't want to control a lot of things from my house via my phone, and I don't want a lot hooked up to the internet where it could get hacked (or if I lose my phone, someone would have access to my front door, etc.).  I don't mind being old school when it comes to home safety.

This is me, almost.  I won't use the word "hate" because I really just don't care about them.  If other people want to control their appliances, lights, whatever, from their phones, fine.  But I have no need, and no desire.  The security issues are the biggest concern.  I'm not going to be out somewhere and suddenly remember that I didn't lock the front door or change the thermostat.  I did that before I left, and if I didn't, I'll live with the consequences.  If it's on the Internet, it can be hacked.  If it's on my phone, someone else gets it if I lose my phone (which has never happened, but you never know for sure).

If the only way to lock or unlock my front door is by turning a key or lever, that's as secure as I'm gonna be.

[Chino]

I feel like I'm getting old. I just closed on a home equity line of credit and it's kind of exciting 

I've had to put a number of unexpected vet bills and home repairs on Lowes and Costco credit cards ranging from 18%-21% interest. The line of credit is only 6.8% interest (wish I got it a year ago - would have probably been in the 4s.), and I plan on consolidating all my debt into that line. My interest payments have been a gut punch lately. 

Is there anything to know/be cognizant of with a HELoC that I might not be thinking/aware of?

[Stadler]

I feel like I'm getting old. I just closed on a home equity line of credit and it's kind of exciting 

I've had to put a number of unexpected vet bills and home repairs on Lowes and Costco credit cards ranging from 18%-21% interest. The line of credit is only 6.8% interest (wish I got it a year ago - would have probably been in the 4s.), and I plan on consolidating all my debt into that line. My interest payments have been a gut punch lately. 

Is there anything to know/be cognizant of with a HELoC that I might not be thinking/aware of?

Only thing I can think of is expiration date/balloon payment.  My dad had one on his condo, and he was making the interest-only payments religiously, and added in a little extra to cover some principal, but it didn't buy down the whole nut.  The line expired and he had a balloon payment that he couldn't liquidate.  So we renegotiated another loan - this time more of a second mortgage - to cover the remaining amount. Not earth-shattering or career-ending, but still a pain in the ass, especially when coupled with all the other stuff we went through (and which I wrote about here). 

[cramx3]

No smart devices in my house.  I'm really not into that kind of stuff, although a Ring would be something I'd consider or some sort of basic security cameras.  I'm not too worried about being robbed or anything, but there has been increased home entries in my area lately that have made me consider the idea.

[Chino]

I feel like I'm getting old. I just closed on a home equity line of credit and it's kind of exciting 

I've had to put a number of unexpected vet bills and home repairs on Lowes and Costco credit cards ranging from 18%-21% interest. The line of credit is only 6.8% interest (wish I got it a year ago - would have probably been in the 4s.), and I plan on consolidating all my debt into that line. My interest payments have been a gut punch lately. 

Is there anything to know/be cognizant of with a HELoC that I might not be thinking/aware of?

Only thing I can think of is expiration date/balloon payment.  My dad had one on his condo, and he was making the interest-only payments religiously, and added in a little extra to cover some principal, but it didn't buy down the whole nut.  The line expired and he had a balloon payment that he couldn't liquidate.  So we renegotiated another loan - this time more of a second mortgage - to cover the remaining amount. Not earth-shattering or career-ending, but still a pain in the ass, especially when coupled with all the other stuff we went through (and which I wrote about here).

I'm 99.99% certain there's not a balloon condition on my line of credit. I believe it's open indefinitely (mortgage and LOC are through the same bank), the only stipulation being a renegotiation of the interest amount on a certain date. I believe it's 10 years. If I pay the balance off in less than a year, I have pay a $400 penalty because the bank doesn't get as much interest as they would have like/planned on. There's also a condition in there that I need to have the balance paid off before selling my house if I were to do that at any point in the future.   

I'm going to go back though and look for anything about a balloon payment. I had one on my Mini Cooper and it was pain in the ass when the engine decided to shit itself a year earlier than I was hoping it would. I had to get a new car and pay off that balloon payment ($6K) at the same time. The Mini was worth nowhere close to that dollar amount on account of the blown engine. It sucked. 

[hefdaddy42]

My wife is in the field of risk and compliance, so we will never ever have a lot of smart devices in our home.

Any particular examples you can mention that has red flags for compliance and risk issues?

I don't know about compliance, but plenty of risk.

A bad actor doesn't have to hack your bank account directly.  They have access by hacking your fridge, or your thermostat, or whatever smart device you have.  Once they do that, they can get to everything else.  When it's all connected, it's all vulnerable.

[jingle.boy]

We have a fair amount and like them.  That said, the sooner that companies like Xfinity can have two wi-fi nets in a house the better.  It's a pain to manage.

Just buy some mesh routers yourself.  I've got Deco branded ones, that also carry IP signals through the electrical between the routers.  I used to think that was BS, but the strength of the wifi signal coming out of my pool shed in the summer begs to differ.

[jingle.boy]

I feel like I'm getting old. I just closed on a home equity line of credit and it's kind of exciting 

I've had to put a number of unexpected vet bills and home repairs on Lowes and Costco credit cards ranging from 18%-21% interest. The line of credit is only 6.8% interest (wish I got it a year ago - would have probably been in the 4s.), and I plan on consolidating all my debt into that line. My interest payments have been a gut punch lately. 

Is there anything to know/be cognizant of with a HELoC that I might not be thinking/aware of?

Only thing I can think of is expiration date/balloon payment.  My dad had one on his condo, and he was making the interest-only payments religiously, and added in a little extra to cover some principal, but it didn't buy down the whole nut.  The line expired and he had a balloon payment that he couldn't liquidate.  So we renegotiated another loan - this time more of a second mortgage - to cover the remaining amount. Not earth-shattering or career-ending, but still a pain in the ass, especially when coupled with all the other stuff we went through (and which I wrote about here).

I'm 99.99% certain there's not a balloon condition on my line of credit. I believe it's open indefinitely (mortgage and LOC are through the same bank), the only stipulation being a renegotiation of the interest amount on a certain date. I believe it's 10 years. If I pay the balance off in less than a year, I have pay a $400 penalty because the bank doesn't get as much interest as they would have like/planned on. There's also a condition in there that I need to have the balance paid off before selling my house if I were to do that at any point in the future.   

I'm going to go back though and look for anything about a balloon payment. I had one on my Mini Cooper and it was pain in the ass when the engine decided to shit itself a year earlier than I was hoping it would. I had to get a new car and pay off that balloon payment ($6K) at the same time. The Mini was worth nowhere close to that dollar amount on account of the blown engine. It sucked.

I had an unsecured HELOC with my mortgage for years, and always used it to pay down my credit card debt.  There's really no other way to go.  I assume your HELOC is unsecured?  And to that end, you have a fixed rate?  Nice.  US banks are very generous.  Even with a secured HELOC (since I own my house),  it's still "variable" Prime +.75% I think.  The only condition on my HELOC is that the proceeds of the sale of my house must go to pay any outstanding HELOC balance.  I just had the bank re-appraise my house/property earlier in the summer so that I could take advantage of the real estate boom lately, and increase my HELOC limit.  Let's just say I'l NEVER come anywhere close to hitting it.

I remember that story about your Mini  . 

[Cool Chris]

If the only way to lock or unlock my front door is by turning a key or lever, that's as secure as I'm gonna be.

That's about where I'm at in my life. In some ways, I am very gadget-y, but not when it comes to home automation. My front door and back slider are always locked unless we are working/playing in the yard, and we enter/leave through the garage. I can manage everything else by hand.

I do have a security camera on my porch, and the wife and kids each have an Echo Dot (sigh...) but they only use one for occasional music listening. 

[Chino]

I feel like I'm getting old. I just closed on a home equity line of credit and it's kind of exciting 

I've had to put a number of unexpected vet bills and home repairs on Lowes and Costco credit cards ranging from 18%-21% interest. The line of credit is only 6.8% interest (wish I got it a year ago - would have probably been in the 4s.), and I plan on consolidating all my debt into that line. My interest payments have been a gut punch lately. 

Is there anything to know/be cognizant of with a HELoC that I might not be thinking/aware of?

Only thing I can think of is expiration date/balloon payment.  My dad had one on his condo, and he was making the interest-only payments religiously, and added in a little extra to cover some principal, but it didn't buy down the whole nut.  The line expired and he had a balloon payment that he couldn't liquidate.  So we renegotiated another loan - this time more of a second mortgage - to cover the remaining amount. Not earth-shattering or career-ending, but still a pain in the ass, especially when coupled with all the other stuff we went through (and which I wrote about here).

I'm 99.99% certain there's not a balloon condition on my line of credit. I believe it's open indefinitely (mortgage and LOC are through the same bank), the only stipulation being a renegotiation of the interest amount on a certain date. I believe it's 10 years. If I pay the balance off in less than a year, I have pay a $400 penalty because the bank doesn't get as much interest as they would have like/planned on. There's also a condition in there that I need to have the balance paid off before selling my house if I were to do that at any point in the future.   

I'm going to go back though and look for anything about a balloon payment. I had one on my Mini Cooper and it was pain in the ass when the engine decided to shit itself a year earlier than I was hoping it would. I had to get a new car and pay off that balloon payment ($6K) at the same time. The Mini was worth nowhere close to that dollar amount on account of the blown engine. It sucked.

I had an unsecured HELOC with my mortgage for years, and always used it to pay down my credit card debt.  There's really no other way to go.  I assume your HELOC is unsecured?  And to that end, you have a fixed rate?  Nice.  US banks are very generous.  Even with a secured HELOC (since I own my house),  it's still "variable" Prime +.75% I think.  The only condition on my HELOC is that the proceeds of the sale of my house must go to pay any outstanding HELOC balance.  I just had the bank re-appraise my house/property earlier in the summer so that I could take advantage of the real estate boom lately, and increase my HELOC limit.  Let's just say I'l NEVER come anywhere close to hitting it.

I remember that story about your Mini  .

Yeah. I have a fixed rate for 10 years, and then it gets renegotiated to whatever the current market rate is. That could come back to bite me on the ass, but we'll have to wait and see. 

"The only condition on my HELOC is that the proceeds of the sale of my house must go to pay any outstanding HELOC balance."

That's how mine is as well. I worded it terribly.

[TAC]

Renegotiating in 10 years is good. I think our HELOC was fixed for a certain amount of time, but then became variable.

We rolled whatever was left on our mortgage and HELOC into one mortgage a couple of years ago when the rates were rock bottom.

[Stadler]

We have a fair amount and like them.  That said, the sooner that companies like Xfinity can have two wi-fi nets in a house the better.  It's a pain to manage.

Just buy some mesh routers yourself.  I've got Deco branded ones, that also carry IP signals through the electrical between the routers.  I used to think that was BS, but the strength of the wifi signal coming out of my pool shed in the summer begs to differ.

But I was wanting two separate networks:  Log all the home automation into "Stadler's Home Automation WiFi Network" and log all the computers and phones and guests into "Stadler's Infotainment WiFi Network".   As I understand it I can't have two separate, autonomous WiFi networks in one home off one account.

[Stadler]

I feel like I'm getting old. I just closed on a home equity line of credit and it's kind of exciting 

I've had to put a number of unexpected vet bills and home repairs on Lowes and Costco credit cards ranging from 18%-21% interest. The line of credit is only 6.8% interest (wish I got it a year ago - would have probably been in the 4s.), and I plan on consolidating all my debt into that line. My interest payments have been a gut punch lately. 

Is there anything to know/be cognizant of with a HELoC that I might not be thinking/aware of?

Only thing I can think of is expiration date/balloon payment.  My dad had one on his condo, and he was making the interest-only payments religiously, and added in a little extra to cover some principal, but it didn't buy down the whole nut.  The line expired and he had a balloon payment that he couldn't liquidate.  So we renegotiated another loan - this time more of a second mortgage - to cover the remaining amount. Not earth-shattering or career-ending, but still a pain in the ass, especially when coupled with all the other stuff we went through (and which I wrote about here).

I'm 99.99% certain there's not a balloon condition on my line of credit. I believe it's open indefinitely (mortgage and LOC are through the same bank), the only stipulation being a renegotiation of the interest amount on a certain date. I believe it's 10 years. If I pay the balance off in less than a year, I have pay a $400 penalty because the bank doesn't get as much interest as they would have like/planned on. There's also a condition in there that I need to have the balance paid off before selling my house if I were to do that at any point in the future.   

I'm going to go back though and look for anything about a balloon payment. I had one on my Mini Cooper and it was pain in the ass when the engine decided to shit itself a year earlier than I was hoping it would. I had to get a new car and pay off that balloon payment ($6K) at the same time. The Mini was worth nowhere close to that dollar amount on account of the blown engine. It sucked.

I had an unsecured HELOC with my mortgage for years, and always used it to pay down my credit card debt.  There's really no other way to go.  I assume your HELOC is unsecured?  And to that end, you have a fixed rate?  Nice.  US banks are very generous.  Even with a secured HELOC (since I own my house),  it's still "variable" Prime +.75% I think.  The only condition on my HELOC is that the proceeds of the sale of my house must go to pay any outstanding HELOC balance.  I just had the bank re-appraise my house/property earlier in the summer so that I could take advantage of the real estate boom lately, and increase my HELOC limit.  Let's just say I'l NEVER come anywhere close to hitting it.

I remember that story about your Mini  .

Not calling you out, just wanting to understand... how do you have a HELOC that isn't secured?   If it's tied to the equity in your home, isn't by definition that a secured loan? 

[jingle.boy]

I don't know.  It's just the kind of products the banks up here offer.  In my mind, prior to owning the house outright, it's backed by the equity I have (had) in my home, but because I don't have 100% ownership of the asset, it's an unsecured (and thus, lower limit / higher interest rate) loan.  If I default against my HELOC payments, they don't have an asset to put a lien on against me - thus it's an unsecured loan (in the eyes of the bank)

Now that I own the house, If I default against the HELOC, they can put a lien on the house, and be guaranteed they get their coin as a secured creditor.

I think that's the gist of how it works.

[Stadler]

I don't know.  It's just the kind of products the banks up here offer.  In my mind, prior to owning the house outright, it's backed by the equity I have (had) in my home, but because I don't have 100% ownership of the asset, it's an unsecured (and thus, lower limit / higher interest rate) loan.  If I default against my HELOC payments, they don't have an asset to put a lien on against me - thus it's an unsecured loan (in the eyes of the bank)

Now that I own the house, If I default against the HELOC, they can put a lien on the house, and be guaranteed they get their coin as a secured creditor.

I think that's the gist of how it works.

Here, generally speaking, "equity" is that portion which you DO own, and if you default on your obligations, the home (to the extent of the equity) is fair game, only the HELOC is subordinate to the primary mortgage, if any.  Anything else is just a regular credit line and usually significantly higher in interest rate than a HELOC (which can be commensurate with a regular mortgage).

[jingle.boy]

Fair enough.  Whether it was technically a HELOC, or just an unsecured Line of Credit marketed as kind-of-a-HELOC, it's what the bank called it.

[jingle.boy]

But to your point, I'm not sure how an institution can "secure" a loan to an asset the loanee don't fully own.  Any "equity" in a home is only as good as the potential selling price.  So, if market says my house is worth $500k; my mortgage balance is $300k, it's not like I have actual equity of $200k that a bank can secure their loan against.  That $200k is unrealized, and the mortgage issuer has first rights to their money over any other loan.  I default and walk away from my house or file for bankruptcy, the HELOC issuer is boned.  Mortgage issuer gets the property.

[Nick]

But to your point, I'm not sure how an institution can "secure" a loan to an asset the loanee don't fully own.  Any "equity" in a home is only as good as the potential selling price.  So, if market says my house is worth $500k; my mortgage balance is $300k, it's not like I have actual equity of $200k that a bank can secure their loan against.  That $200k is unrealized, and the mortgage issuer has first rights to their money over any other loan.  I default and walk away from my house or file for bankruptcy, the HELOC issuer is boned.  Mortgage issuer gets the property.

Keep in mind, I may be completely off base on this, but I believe that's not quite how it works. In that instance the bank can't just walk away with 200k because someone stopped making payments. In this instance if the bank sells the house, and walk away with 150k (lower price for quick sell, agent fees, whatever), and there is a 50k HELOC, they would have to hand that 50k over at this time, I believe.

[Samsara]

we will never ever have a lot of smart devices in our home.

Same.