HELOC, what makes one better than another?

[Tobey Humphries]

I need to know what questions I should ask when shopping around for a HELOC. I just found out my bank doesn't offer a HELOC. This is pushing me out of my comfort zone (probably a good thing), but in researching what bank offers the best HELOC I was struck with the realization that I don't know what questions to ask or even what terms are good. I've realized, to my folly, that I would have just been happy to have secured one. Can anyone tell me what questions I should ask and for each question what would be an acceptable answer to my question from the bank?

Bonus round: What are the top 5 HELOC providers you'd recommend me to contact?

Bonus round:  How much shopping around can I do and for how long before it negatively effects my credit score?