What consolidating through a refinance involves
A debt-consolidation refinance leans on a mortgage refinance or a home equity product to bring several existing balances together under one new monthly payment. A borrower spreading payments across a number of accounts might weigh offers from network lenders designed to gather those balances into one.
Because the funds come from a mortgage or home equity product, the consolidated debt is secured by the borrower's home. That is a meaningful change from unsecured balances — credit card balances, for instance — which are not tied to the home at all.
Products that can serve this purpose
The network includes a handful of home-secured loan products a borrower might line up to consolidate balances. As ever, the precise terms rest with each individual lender.
Debt-consolidation refinance
This is a refinance that replaces an existing mortgage with a new one and releases additional funds, which a borrower may direct toward other balances. The new mortgage is secured by the home, and offers spanning different terms and structures can be weighed across network lenders.
HELOC
A home equity line of credit is a revolving line secured by the borrower's home, allowing funds to be drawn across a defined period. Those funds may be applied to other balances. How the rate is structured differs from one lender to the next.
Home equity loan
A home equity loan provides funds as a single lump sum, secured by the home. A borrower may put those funds toward other balances and then repay the home equity loan on the terms the lender sets.
The trade-offs worth weighing
Bringing unsecured balances into a home-secured loan changes the nature of the debt. Balances that once stood apart from the home become part of a loan the home backs — which means the home acts as collateral for the consolidated debt.
The total interest paid across the life of the loan may shift too. Lengthening the repayment period can alter how interest accumulates over time compared with the original balances. Whether any particular outcome suits a borrower depends on that borrower's own circumstances and the terms a lender offers. USA Fin Planning does not provide financial advice, and it is wise to read each lender's terms in full before going ahead.
How the comparison comes together
USA Fin Planning is a lender comparison tool rather than an application. Completing the online form connects you with lenders in the network so their offers can be read side by side. Reading those offers puts a borrower under no obligation to proceed with any lender.
Tell us about your balances
Work through a short online form covering your home and the balances you are thinking of consolidating.
Connect with network lenders
The details you share help point you toward lenders who carry debt-consolidation refinance or home equity products.
Read the offers together
Take in offers from several lenders in a single view. There is no requirement to go any further.
Questions worth asking
What does a debt-consolidation refinance do?
It is a refinance that lets a borrower fold several existing balances into one new mortgage payment. Home equity products can be used toward the same end. Whichever route is taken, the consolidated debt is secured by the borrower's home.
Could consolidating lower what I pay each month?
That depends on a borrower's own circumstances, the offers returned by lenders, and the terms eventually taken on. USA Fin Planning makes no promise about any savings outcome and does not provide financial advice.
How does this differ from a balance transfer card or a personal loan?
Quite a lot. A debt-consolidation refinance and home equity products rely on the home as security, while balance transfer cards and unsecured personal loans do not. It is worth reading the terms of each option closely before deciding which route suits your situation.
What if I fall behind on the payments?
Because the debt is secured by the home, missing payments could carry consequences specific to home-secured lending. Reading each lender's terms in full before going ahead is the sensible step.
Is the form on this site an application?
No. The online form is a lender comparison tool. Submitting it is not an application, and no lender's credit decision is promised.