Is this HELOC worth it?

[Blake Dowe]

Hi BP! 

Much of what I've been researching has shown that the best way to prepare for the (potentially) upcoming market downturn is to save cash and open up lines of credit where possible. I went through the process of getting a HELOC and after the appraisal came back very low they offered me only an $18,000 Line with a variable interest rate moving with the prime rate.

I know I don't need to use the money just because I have the line of credit, but is it worth it to move forward with this even though in my market $18,000 won't get me very far?

Thanks,