Since home equity lines of credit have become so difficult, there’s been an increase of companies offering “HELOC alternatives.” Generally, these are just your average personal loans aimed at creditworthy customers. First Again is one such company. Their recent press release explains: “According to Gary Miller, cofounder and CEO of FirstAgain, an emerging online consumer [...] [...more]
Don’t plan on taking out a home equity line of credit from J.P. Morgan anytime soon. According to MarketWatch, their HELOC originations dropped a whopping 77% when compared to last year: “Home equity loan origination dropped more dramatically, falling 77% on a year-to-year basis. “Declines reflect tighter underwriting standards and the overall reduction in liquidity [...] [...more]
A new program is being advertised to help lenders detect potential fraud in home equity lines of credit / loans. A press release for the FraudMark software claims that it can identify up to 60% of fraudulent loans by reviewing 10% of the total applications. “BasePoint Analytics(TM), a leading provider of scientific fraud and risk [...] [...more]
What a week. There has been some unprecedented instability amongst major home equity lenders during the past few days. Talk of a bailout, stock plunges, and bank failures have topped the headlines. Now it’s looking like only a handful of major HELOC lenders will come out of this. The next time you go to take [...] [...more]
After weeks of rumors and speculation, it finally happened – Washington Mutual fell and was promptly purchased by financial giant J.P Morgan. Market Watch reports: “Late Thursday, J.P. Morgan announced an agreement to buy WaMu’s banking subsidiary after the nation’s largest thrift was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. In a presentation on its [...] [...more]
Under the federal Truth in Lending Act, the HELOC consumer is granted certain rights. Most importantly, you have the right to be given information about your HELOC before agreeing to the loan or paying any fees. You also have the right to cancel your home equity line of credit within a specified time frame. Read [...] [...more]
Washington Mutual got a new CEO this week – a leader that is now faced with cleaning up a messy portfolio of non-performing mortgages and clients walking away from their debt. On the top of the heap is a whopping $60 billion in home equity loans (including home equity lines of credit). WaMu has already [...] [...more]
In the last year, terms and qualifying requirements on home equity lines of credit have become extremely strict. Rightly, many unqualified borrowers are now unable to take out home equity loans. However, many qualified borrowers are also suffering under the new requirements. A recent American Banker article explains that lenders should avoid punishing those who [...] [...more]
According to some reports, Wachovia has continued freezing home equity lines of credit for several weeks. The Philadelphia Inquirer explains: “Wachovia credit-line customers whose home equity has declined 50 percent or more received letters in the last several weeks saying that their credit lines had been reduced or blocked, Wachovia spokeswoman Barbara Nate said. “Our [...] [...more]
Even the wealthy have been affected by home equity line of credit freezes this year. Despite a good job and a solid income, many have faced HELOC reductions due to the declining value of property. The Wall Street Journal explains: “Wall Street firm Morgan Stanley added some of its well-heeled clients to the long list [...] [...more]
