Should I pay off my mortgage with an equity line?

Updated
mortgages
mortgages

With equity line rates lower than mortgage rates, some readers are wondering if it would be better to pay off their mortgage using their equity line. In some cases that might be true, especially since I expect interest rates to stay low for at least a year. But, if you do decide to use this strategy, be ready to jump back into a fixed rate loan when interest rates start to go back up.

Here's a good question on the topic by one of our readers:

My husband is 72 and I'm 66. We have $69,000.00 left on a mortgage with 8.5% interest and a home equity loan with $95,000.00 available with a very, very low interest rate. Our home is worth (on a good day) about $850,000.00. Is it wise for us to pay off the mortgage with the home equity loan? Is interest on the home equity loan tax deductible?
We took out the mortgage to help out a daughter buy a house only to have the husband run off leaving us with the mortgage to deal with. Barbara


Barbara, sorry to hear you're stuck with debt, but in your case based on the information you've given me it would be a good idea to pay off the 8.5% mortgage loan with a low interest equity line. That way you could avoid the costs of refinancing the 8.5% mortgage. Home equity loan interest is tax deductible in most cases up to the value of the home. But, do keep your eye on interest rates. If you do see them creeping up before you are near to paying off that debt, then think about applying for a fixed-rate loan.

If you are considering paying off a high-interest mortgage with a low-interest equity line, here are some things you should review first:

1. How much interest are you actually paying on your mortgage? You pay a large portion of the interest on an amortized loan like a mortgage during the first half of the loan. As you get nearer to the end of the loan, you may be paying primarily principal. So compare your anticipated monthly interest costs of the equity line with the monthly interest costs of your current mortgage. If you don't get a monthly statement showing the amount you are paying toward principal and the amount your are paying toward interest, ask your bank for the breakdown.

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