Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Suze Orman is tapping the brakes on a HELOC boom. With balances up roughly 20% since late 2021, she warns that "HELOCs can in fact be risky" and should be used with clear guardrails, not as an open checkbook. For homeowners exploring ways to access equity without replacing a low-rate first mortgage, the structure matters. A quick run-through with a mortgage pro (comparing a cash-out refi to a revolving lin ...