Balanced homodyne detection is typically used to measure quantum-noise-limited optical beams, including squeezed states of light, at audio-band frequencies. Current designs of advanced gravitational wave interferometers use some type of homodyne readout for signal detection, in part because of its compatibility with the use of squeezed light. The readout scheme used in Advanced LIGO, called DC readout, is however not a balanced detection scheme. Instead, the local oscillator field, generated from a dark fringe offset, co-propagates with the signal field at the anti-symmetric output of the beam splitter. This article examines the alternative of a true balanced homodyne detection for the readout of gravitational wave detectors such as Advanced LIGO. Several practical advantages of the balanced detection scheme are described.