|
Credit card debt has no security to back it up; if you default, you can be sued for nonpayment, but the lender can not approach you and take something from you to pay your debt. With normal bank card use, you accumulate debt that is unsecured. Equity cards, and the loans they represent, are backed by the value of your home, and if you fail to pay, you might lose your property to foreclosure. Unlike traditional credit cards, equity based accounts are backed by collateral - your home.
That DVD that you charge on your house’s value is one that you could be paying for over the next decade, with interest. These cards will accrue less interest than you would ordinarily pay on a credit card loan, but it is interest just the same. Unless you repay that cash every month as you use it, those bills that you accumulate with these kinds of cards will accrue interest, just as with a traditional unsecured credit card. Be prudent with such an account, or you might wind up putting a lot of money at risk. Americans have a tendency not to repay credit lines particularly quickly, so the interest will add up.
|