Paperwork guides
Read the agreement before you rely on the summary
Clear guides to the documents behind a home equity line, so a long contract turns into a short list of questions.
Featured guide
A tour of the clauses, in the order they usually appear.
Paperwork guide
Reading a home equity line agreement from the first page to the last
A walk through the clauses of a HELOC agreement in the order they usually appear, with what each one decides and what to ask about it.
Read the guide →Words you meet in the paperwork
Short definitions of terms that show up in a credit agreement.
Credit agreement
The contract that sets the limit, the rate, the fees and the duties of both sides.
Disclosure
A required summary of the main terms of a loan, given before signing.
Index
A published benchmark number that a variable rate follows.
Margin
The amount a lender adds to the index to arrive at the rate.
Rescission
A limited right to cancel a credit contract after signing it.
Sole discretion
Wording that lets one side decide without explaining the choice.
How to use these pages
Keep these points beside your paperwork.
Your copy rules
These guides are general, and the agreement in your hands decides what applies.
Ask in writing
A question put in writing leaves a record you can keep with the file.
Get a second reader
A counselor or a lawyer can read your actual papers with you.