A Home Equity Line of Credit, often called a HELOC, is a line of credit secured by your home. HELOCs act similarly to credit cards, but instead of borrowing funds from your credit card’s available balance, you are borrowing from the available equity in your home while your house serves as collateral for the line of credit. When you pay back the balance on your HELOC, the availability of the line of credit increases, similar to a credit card. Many people use these lines of credit for home improvement projects or paying off other debt with a higher interest rates.