More Home Owner Bad News
February 29th, 2008
“BAY AREA RESIDENTS accustomed to treating their homes like piggy banks could be in for unpleasant surprises as home prices decline in many areas. Not only are banks less willing to issue popular home- equity lines of credit, but some of the nation’s biggest lenders are freezing existing loans.
Countrywide Home Loans, for example, has sent letters to at least 122,000 homeowners nationwide informing them they can no longer draw on their home-equity lines of credit. Many homeowners rely on these pay-as-you-use-them loans to finance things such as remodeling, college tuition and emergency expenses. “
As home sales and prices continue to slide the news continues to worsen for home owners and property owners everywhere. Now a necessary part of many people’s incomes and buying power is being completely eliminated. When will economists and bankers realize that fast fixes via interest rates from The Fed aren’t going to cut it. We need ound economic policies from the top down that encourage not just consumer confidence but consumer purchasing power.
It’s all about disposable income folks. You have it or you don’t. Personally, I dispose of mine in my gas tank.
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Is home equity the new subprime? Goldman Sachs may think so — the brokerage lowered its 2008 earnings estimate for JP Morgan Chase & Co. to $3.30 from $3.44 Thursday amid warnings that problems in the bank’s home equity loan portfolio could cost it $450 million, more than twice previous estimates.