A home equity loan will generally allow you to borrow more money than with any other form of credit, and offer better terms than with other types of loans.

Home equity credit lines often come with variable interest rates (a few offer fixed rates). A credit line may come with attractive low introductory rates. You may find that some home equity credit lines have large one-time upfront fees, others have closing costs and some have continuing costs, such as annual fees.

Home equity lines of credit require that you use your home as collateral. This can put your home at risk if you are late or cannot make your monthly payments.

Once approved for an equity line of credit, you will most likely be able to borrow up to your credit limit whenever you want. Typically, you will use special checks to draw on your line. Under some plans, borrowers can use a credit card or other means to draw on the line.

The federal Truth in Lending Act requires lenders to disclose the important terms and costs of their home equity plans, including the APR, miscellaneous charges, the payment terms, and information about any variable-rate feature. And in general, neither the lender nor anyone else may charge a fee until after you have received this information.

You usually get these disclosures when you receive an application form, and you will get additional disclosures before the plan is opened.

If any term (other than a variable-rate feature) changes before the plan is opened, the lender must return all fees if you decide not to enter into the plan because of the change.

The days of having a home mortgage loan, a personal loan, a car loan, a savings account, a checking account and outstanding balancees on credit cards are becoming a thing of the past.

Financially, it makes sense to consolidate your various personal loans into one. The interest savings can then be used to pay down your debt principal.

A home equity debt consolidation loan only works if you’re financially disciplined. This means you don’t run up debts again such as credit cards. If you do, you could end up with more debt than you can manage. Since your home is used to secure the home equity loan, failure to make payments could lead to foreclosure of your home.

You generally have the right to cancel the deal for any reason — and without penalty — within three days after signing the loan papers. The lender must return any money you’ve paid to date.

Negotiate with more than one lender. Make lenders compete for your business by letting them know that you’re shopping for the best deal. Ask each lender to lower the points, fees or the interest rate, and to meet — or beat — the terms of the other lenders.

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