equity

[silverfinger]

is it a good idea to release some equity on my house??

[Oneeyedvic]

Depends on what you want to do with the money.

[NoGood Boyo]

You won't get a conclusive answer to your question because so much depends on your circumstances and objectives. Any Financial Adviser will need to ask you a lot of questions before giving an opinion, but that's all in your own best interests.

[BenDToy]

If you want to borrow cash anyway this is a cheap way of doing it. But I don't think this is a good time to do it just to support your lifestyle.

[Oneeyedvic]

This is not a cheap way of doing it.... although the APR may be low, the period is usually a long time and so the amount you are actually repaying is more... eg A loan of �10,000 taken over years at 9.9% APR total repayable �11,520.68 The same loan taken over 10 years at 4.9% APR Total repayable �12,593.60. Also bear in mind that the 3 year loan would be at a fixed rate whilst the 10 year loan would usually be variable.

[BenDToy]

Of course it's a cheap way of doing it at a rate of say 5%, and you can pay it back any time you like at any amount you like, assuming you have a "decent" mortgage.

[Oneeyedvic]

hmmm.... decent mortgage....now there's a question with a million answers...

[BenDToy]

Fair point Oneeyedvic, but in this instance, I refer to one which allows you to pay back at least some of the capital without penalty. Which is most of them these days.