Affect of account payoff vs new home equity loan on FICO score

[Anonymous]

If someone pays off all of their credit card and student loan debt  and then gets a home equity loan for the same total amount of debt,  any idea how that would affect the FICO score?  Even though it would be the same amount of debt, maybe the score improves since it is now all "secured" debt, and now multiple accounts have a zero-utilization level.  However, would a HEL show at 100% utilization when it's first taken out?  At a $100,000 HEL level, that might be worse than all of the multiple accounts with high balances but somewhat lower total utilization.   Just wondering.  Anyone have experience or knowledge about such a scenario?

[llecs]

If I'm reading right, and if you took out a HELOC before paying off your debt and used the proceeds of the HELOC for the purpose of paying off that debt, then YMMV based on what the score change will be. A number of things are going on. You mentioned $100k as a HELOC amount. An amount that high would be scored as a mortgage loan as opposed to a HELOC on TU98 FICO (as found on myFICO) because of the limit of the HELOC. I think the cutoff is around $40-$50k. Newer versions of TU FICO would score it as a mortgage loan. Virtually all EQ FICOs score it as a mortgage as well, along with EX FICO I believe. 

Adding a new TL could ding your FICO but that ding would be short-lived. The new TL reporting a balance could also impact, but, IMO, you'd more than make up for it as your other balances hit $0. The balance of the HELOC wouldn't matter really since it is scored as an installment. Your other loan balances hitting $0 might not improve your score too much (I'd guess single digits). However, your revolving balances hitting $0 and with a newfound 0% util, I predict an increase but that increase would vary. What is your CC utilization now? In short, a number of factors are coming into play, but in your favor.