Effect of HELOC vs mortgage on credit rating

if the line is small(under 30k iirc) it will count as revolving and likely hurt score considerably

spiritraveller said: A HELOC is treated as revolving credit (the same as a credit card). You might be increasing the ratio of amount owed to available credit on revolving credit accounts. That's a significant factor in your credit score.
That's not necessarily true. See below.

joeuhc said: I should have mentioned the HELOC is 50K (edited above), so I do have $35K available balance. No plans to tap anymore available credit unless I can't replace my $10K 0% B of A in March with another 0% deal.

Thanks for the info, I knew the interest for the HELOC was calculated the same as a credit card. I guess it makes sense it's treated the same way for credit reporting purposes.
It's probable that it will be treated as a mortgage type of account. See this FICO Forum post or this one for specifics. In summary, it appears that there is a cut-off point, where HELOCs aren't classified as revolving accounts (i.e. credit cards), but as mortgages (a form of installment loan). The latter hasn't as nearly a drastic effect on one's FICO scores. Some say the cut-off is a $50K line; others give slightly lower amounts. The best way to make sure is to check your credit report.

My $250K BoA HELOC shows in the "Real Estate Accounts: Primary and secondary mortgages on your home" section of my credit report (which uses the TrueCredit engine) for all three bureaus. TransUnion and Equifax show as type: Home equity; Experian shows as type: Credit line secured. Regardless of the type, since the HELOC is the real estate account section of my credit reports, I believe it has the same type of effect on my scores as my conventional mortgage does.