If you’re in the market for a home equity line of credit, it’s worth it to shop around. During the housing boom, many lenders offered similar terms for their home equity lines of credit. But, today’s HELOC lenders are dealing with the mortgage crisis in different ways. Almost all lenders are tightening standards for home equity [...] [...more]
National City is now offering some customers a $200 check if they agree to close their unused home equity lines of credit. Financial Times reports: “The bank’s initiative, which was launched at the end of July, encourages National City customers to surrender their unused home equity lines by waiving fees it would normally charge for closing the [...] [...more]
I’ve often said that using a home equity line of credit to pay college tuition is a poor choice, especially if the student has access to low-interest government loans.  However, if other options are not available, using a home equity line of credit does have some benefits. Finance expert Dan Galli explains: “…the Home Equity Line of credit has some advantages [...] [...more]
Some baby boomers may not be able to retire as soon as planned due to limited savings and large home equity line withdrawals. CNN Money reports: “The housing bubble had another perverse effect on our planning: It led us to save less. “Many people thought, ‘I’m wealthier, I already have a big chunk of my nest egg [...] [...more]
According to reports, some home equity line of credit lenders are freezing accounts based on declining credit scores. The Arizona Republic reports: “It also might be smart to check your credit report, evaluate your credit score and make fixes if necessary. Sometimes a drop in credit quality triggers a freeze, not just a declining home value. Unfortunately, a [...] [...more]
