If you’re one of the few who can still qualify, now may be a smart time to take out that home equity line of credit. Earlier today officials slashed the Federal Funds rate a half point to just 1%. The Associated Press explains: “The Fed, as investors had hoped, announced a half-point cut in the [...] [...more]
Many financial analysts speculated that the government would slash the Federal Funds Rate earlier today. But, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues voted unanimously to keep rates the same (2.0%). A federal rate cut would have resulted in lower interest rates on most home equity lines of credit. Almost all U.S.-based HELOC rates [...] [...more]
According to some, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan may have foreseen the current housing crisis – including the current issues with home equity lines of credit. Bloomburg reports: “For homeowners, froth came in the form of home equity. As it was seen as easy “money on the house,” this bubble-inflated bonanza was mostly cashed [...] [...more]
According to a Federal Reserve report released earlier today, most HELOC lenders have tightened their standards for new borrowers and / or changed terms for existing borrowers. A vast majority of lenders have made it more difficult for borrowers to qualify for HELOCs during the past three months: “About 70 percent of domestic respondents—a somewhat [...] [...more]
Earlier today the Federal Reserve cut the federal funds rate a quarter of a point, from 2.25 to 2. The prime rate, used to determine the majority of HELOC interest rates, generally mimics the federal funds rate. So, HELOC customers may see a slight interest reduction in their future statements. Some analysts speculate that this [...] [...more]
