Do home equity loans affect your credit score?

Despite record amounts of home equity, fewer homeowners are tapping into this source of wealth. While a number of factors contribute to this fact, could concerns about a home equity loan’s effect on credit score play a role? To determine the impact a home equity loan could have on a borrower’s credit profile, LendingTree analyzed data from 2,500 consumers to see how their credit scores changed in the months after they took out a loan, and the results may surprise you.