Canadians love to use home equity lines of credit (HELOCs). In fact, we’ve used them to borrow $230 billion, according to 2018 numbers from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.
For large, unexpected expenses, a HELOC can be a better option than making a withdrawal from your RRSP.
These lines of credit allow borrowers to access up to 80 percent of the equity in their property to fund whatever they’d like. It works like a line of credit: You can withdraw funds and pay down the debt anytime you want, and it can be done all online.
HELOCs, though, aren’t always used to their full advantage. Duane Bentley, Vice-President of Banking and Mortgage Distribution for Investors Group, offers guidance on mastering the HELOC.