A home equity loan refers to a lump sum (and one time) cash advance given to a homeowner to help them fund emergency repairs and upgrades. A home equity line of credit, on the other hand, works like a credit card that allows borrowing against your home equity and repaying as many times as you possibly can. A home equity loan adopts a relatively rigid and expensive application process but carries less interest rate compared to the line of credit that has no application fees but carries higher interests and shorter repayment periods.