The banks are starting to call in their markers. Home equity lines of credit, also known as HELOCs, were all the rage over the past few years and became very common among homeowners wanting to free up some equity. Perhaps it was for a room addition or college tuition. Maybe it was a 30 foot sail boat or just consolidating credit card bills at the lower interest rates. For me, it was used to create an opportunity fund for real estate investments.
Whatever your deal was, the HELOC landscape is changing rapidly. According to one of my lenders, Wells Fargo Bank (NYSE: WFC), the retail banking industry is looking for safety and liquidity -- and to improve theirs, they may be reducing yours. I have heard the same thing from mortgage brokers and private equity sources.
Lenders have been getting nervous as they watch home values move lower. They were writing equity lines at 80% loan-to-value. To maintain a margin of safety, they are reducing their exposure by calling due any unused portion of the available line. This means that if you had only used $100,000 of your $150,000 equity line you may receive notice in the mail that they are reducing the line to $100,000 and your available cash is zero.
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