If you’re a homeowner who’s taken on too much debt, a financial product known as a home equity loan may help you escape it. Although taking on a home equity loan can be risky — after all, your house is used as collateral for the loan — the product’s rates are typically lower than those like credit cards or personal loans. “As long as you have a steady source of income and know that you will be able to repay the loan in a timely manner, the lower fixed rates of a home equity loan make them a sensible choice,” says Richard Ortoli, co-founder of New York City law firm Ortoli Rosenstadt LLP.