Financial services featured on the Debt Consolidation Loan Directory:
- Debt Management - Too many debts to handle? Too many monthly credit cards to make payments on? Review different debt consolidation solutions and find help for the management of your debts.
- Personal Loan - Shop for personal loans online. This financing often do not require personal collateral and are often available to homeowners, as well as non-homeowners..
A Shopper's Guide to Bank Products and Services
Questions to Ask About a Home Equity Product
Do I really need this loan?
Consider all your options before you use your home as collateral for a loan.
Can I afford the loan payments?
Find out how much the payments will be and decide if you can afford them. Remember, if you decide to get a home loan and you can't make the payments, you could lose your home.
What if interest rates increase?
Find out what the interest rate will be on your loan. If it is a variable rate, find out when the rate may change and by how much. Ask yourself if you can afford increased monthly payments when interest rates rise. Beware of loan terms and conditions that may mean higher costs for you.
What will I use the loan to pay for?
If you decide to tap into your home's equity, you should try to invest in assets with long-term value, such as a home renovation project. Using a long-term loan to finance a short-term asset, such as a car that will have to be replaced in five or six years, means you could still be paying for the item even though you no longer own it.
Also see:
- Mortgages - Questions You Should Ask Before Getting a Mortgage Loan.
FDIC Consumer News is published by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
FDIC Consumer News is produced quarterly by the FDIC Office of Public Affairs in cooperation with other Divisions and Offices. It is intended to present information in a nontechnical way and is not intended to be a legal interpretation of FDIC or other government regulations and policies. Mention of a product, service or company does not constitute an endorsement.
Find current and past issues of FDIC Consumer News at http://www.fdic.gov/consumernews. Refer to this same index to locate the issues that are specially formatted for being reprinted in any quantity.
To receive an e-mail notice about each new issue of FDIC Consumer News posted on the FDIC Web site, with links to stories, follow instructions posted at www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.
Last updated on 5/17/2005