Home Equity Line of Credit

[Cassidy Burns]

Hi BP,

Can someone please help clarify the difference between a HELOC and a Home Equity Loan?

Shamelessly my mother is going to be my first partner, as she wants to get into real estate investing as well. She owns her house free and clear (i'm guessing worth around $75,000), BUT had to take a home equity loan of $12,000 four years ago. She currently owes $6,500. How do we go about getting this LOC out? Can she even do this while the loan still has a balance?

Thanks in advance for any help!