The national news has carried warnings that several household-name banks have been freezing, reducing or otherwise restricting Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOCs).
There have been stories about the more hard-charging, riskier lenders (Countrywide, WaMu) cutting back, as well as new limits being imposed by Bank of…
The national news has carried warnings that several household-name banks have been freezing, reducing or otherwise restricting Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOCs).
There have been stories about the more hard-charging, riskier lenders (Countrywide, WaMu) cutting back, as well as new limits being imposed by Bank of America and Chase.
This was one of those phenomena that we, frankly, assumed was a bigger problem outside MB than here in town. And then a loyal reader asked for help using MBC data to back up a rough, conservative estimate of his home’s value. Why? To tell the bank how wrong they are about the home’s value, so they’ll unfreeze the HELOC.
That freeze, the bank’s letter said, was allegedly due to a decline in value. However, in that case, the real underlying issue seems to be the bank’s growing problems, and resulting extreme conservatism, not the home’s value or our reader’s LTV ratios.
From that anecdote we spin out to a new MBC poll of a different sort. Tell us: How’s your HELOC? Vote in the poll and tell a part of your story in the comments.
We’re really looking for homeowners with HELOCs to respond, but we’re offering choices for others, too.
No doubt along the way we’ll hear about which banks are cutting back on credit and which might still be offering it to those whose HELOCs are frozen or too restricted with their current banks. We welcome your input, even borderline advertising, as to which local, reputable lenders might be worth considering for those who need a HELOC or want to move theirs.
Poll closes Wednesday night at 8pm.
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Listings presented above are supplied via the MLS and are brokered by a variety of agents and firms, not Dave Fratello or Edge Real Estate Agency, unless so stated with the listing. Images and links to properties above lead to a full MLS display of information, including home details, lot size, all photos, and listing broker and agent information and contact information.
Based on information from California Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc. as of March 19th, 2024 at 4:30am PDT. This information is for your personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties you may be interested in purchasing. Display of MLS data is usually deemed reliable but is NOT guaranteed accurate by the MLS. Buyers are responsible for verifying the accuracy of all information and should investigate the data themselves or retain appropriate professionals. Information from sources other than the Listing Agent may have been included in the MLS data. Unless otherwise specified in writing, Broker/Agent has not and will not verify any information obtained from other sources. The Broker/Agent providing the information contained herein may or may not have been the Listing and/or Selling Agent.