Kevin Costner made headlines last year for taking out a mortgage on his seaside Santa Barbara estate to fund the filming of Horizon, the four-part epic Western he’s been developing for over 30 years.
He doesn’t regret the financial move, even though he’d originally intended to build his last family home on the 10-acre plot of land.
“it wasn’t an easy decision, but it was the decision I needed to make,” Costner told the Associated Press at the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival.
Costner believes in investing in your passion projects
Most financial advisers would likely recommend investing your earnings wisely in a tax-advantaged account or letting the equity on your real estate grow — indeed, Costner told Deadline last year his decision sent his accountant into “a f****ing conniption fit.”
But Costner believes it’s important to invest in yourself and what you believe in.
“You can spend your life just trying to make your pile grow bigger and bigger — and I’ve not been really terribly great at that,” Costner admitted to Associated Press.
“I’m like anyone else, I’d like it to be big,” he says. “But not at the expense of not doing what I feel like I’d love to do.”
Costner further revealed he’s invested about $38 million of his own money into Horizon in a recent interview with GQ.
Should you tap into your home equity?
You might not be Kevin Costner — with a couple of Academy Awards and millions of dollars to your name — but it’s not uncommon for folks to tap into their home equity to pay off their debts, fund major repairs or home improvements or make other large purchases.
You could take out a home equity loan — a lump sum loan that homeowners receive upfront, which they repay over a fixed term with a fixed interest rate.
ANother option is a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC), which gets you a revolving line of credit based on the equity in your home but also comes with variable interest rates.
Taking a loan against your home or whatever real estate you own can help you access cash quickly — but it also comes with plenty of risks.
For one, taking out a loan against your home means increasing your overall debt burden. It also typically includes higher interest rates and additional fees compared to what you’d pay on your primary mortgage since second mortgages come with more risk.
And, of course, if you default on this loan, you risk losing your property altogether — a gamble that Costner made, betting on the success of his upcoming film series.
“There’s commerce on my mind, but I don’t let it overshadow the entertainment value and essence of what I’m trying to portray,” Costner says. “I don’t try to let the fear of that control my instincts on any level.”
“I don’t want to live that way.”