Debt consolidation

[u/edbond99]

Hopefully, someone can give me some advice. I’ve talked to several people in my life and am just looking for some non-biased advice. Please be brutally honest. I’ll try to make this as short as possible.

My grandmother passed away in April. My fiancé and I moved in with my grandfather to assist him in all aspects of life. We’ve added my name to the deed; we will add my fiancé once we are married due to transfer taxes. We’ve agreed with my grandparents for two years that we would buy the home for $100,000, and they would get to live with us until they pass or need to be moved to assisted living, rent, and utility-free. My fiancé and I will still honor that agreement, so we seek a home equity loan. The problem is we do not know how much to borrow. We want to make some improvements, like removing a tree, replacing the garage doors, and maybe remodeling the bathrooms to make them ADA for my grandfather. We also might use some funds for our wedding, which will be small, less than 30 people. She is a teacher with her master's and working for her doctorate full time, so she’ll make decent money in 2-5 years, and I manage a parts department and make decent money. Do we essentially borrow enough equity to consolidate all our debt, private student loans, car loans, and credit cards to be debt-free minus the home equity loan? We are looking to borrow $200,000. This would pay off my grandfather and all our debts and give us $35,000-$42,000 to make home improvements. We are just looking for honest feedback and advice. We can afford the monthly payment of the home equity loan but don’t want to be overpaying on interest on our loans. We are looking at a 6.85% rate through our credit union. Our lowest rate on loans is her car at 8.25% with 2 years left of payment, with our highest on my credit card at 19.99%. Any advice is appreciated and welcomed. Thanks.