Hey! Don’t Take My HELOC!

I don’t know what I’m anticipating more: my rebate check or a letter from my lender that tells me my HELOC is on ice. Back in January, lenders started notifying borrowers that their Home Equity Line of Credit — which is essentially a debit card on steroids — was being frozen, or rendered useless. Countrywide led the way, but it looks like Bank of America, Chase, Citibank and others are doing the same, according to a recent CNN article. Of course, the fine print on a HELOC says something like, “…we can shut you off at any time…” and some say that HELOC spigot of instant moolah can be turned off instantly with the balance due immediately. As my daughter would say, “that’s harsh.”

In perusing the loan requests on the Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, it looks like there are 397 HELOC and home equity loan requests, many with several loan quotes attached, so the market is still vibrant for HELOCs. Borrowers: If you need money for a home remodel or something else, create an anonymous loan request — that’s right: no name, address, phone or SSN number needs to pass through — on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace.

Anonymous… how nice does that sound?