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National City, a major HELOC lender, is now on a form of probation with federal banking regulators. Reuters reports: “The banking subsidiary of National City Corp has signed a confidential memorandum of understanding with U.S. regulators, promising to address its rising amount of bad loans, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday. The memorandum signed [...] [...more]
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A new report from J.D. Power and Associates ranks home equity lenders according to the results of a customer satisfaction survey. As I reported earlier this week, overall customer satisfaction has improved since last year. However, not all HELOC lenders faired equally. Here are the results, on a scale of one to one-thousand: Bank of America: 811 SunTrust: [...] [...more]
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For months, HELOC borrowers have been complaining about frozen and reduced home equity lines. Now, a concerned congressman is asking lenders some tough questions. Representative Dennis Kucinich called the HELOC freezes “very disturbing.” “People have had their home equity lines suspended whether or not their credit is good or not, and whether they have sufficient equity in [...] [...more]
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One fact is clear from the past few months: home equity lenders are extremely unpredictable. Because of declining property values, many HELOC clients have had their lines frozen or decreased. It’s hard on borrowers, but it makes financial sense for the banks. However, HELOC lenders haven’t stopped at that. Many customers have been surprised to find [...] [...more]
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Bank of America is now predicting even greater losses on HELOC investments than initially expected. The Los Angeles Times reports: “Bank of America Corp. warned Tuesday that its losses on home-equity loans would be worse than it predicted just three weeks ago, adding to evidence that more consumers are falling behind on debts… At an investor conference [...] [...more]
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Last month we published an article identifying the lenders who were canceling or freezing HELOC lines. Now, it’s time for an update. Lenders Freezing HELOC Lines Countrywide (leading the way since January with over 120,000 notices sent) Wachovia (started sending most letters earlier this week) Washington Mutual IndyMac Bank Capital One (Greenponing Mortgage Unit) Bank of America Chase CitiGroup National City Suntrust USAA Federal Savings It’s important to [...] [...more]
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Choosing a HELOC can be difficult. When speaking with HELOC lenders you may receive so many different terms and rates that it becomes practically impossible to keep track. This chart can help. Use it to organize the HELOC information lenders give you. By the time you’re finished speaking with three lenders, you’ll be able to [...] [...more]
