Lenders freeze home-equity credit

The Takeaway

In the latest aftershock from the housing crash, lenders are scaling back home-equity credit lines. It’s a move that affects all homeowners — those with good and bad credit alike. Paul Owers, a real estate reporter at the South Florida "Sun-Sentinel," explains.

Owers says that lenders of home equity credit lines, which are second mortages, get little or nothing back if a house falls into foreclosure: "So banks are feeling at risk. So what they’re doing is, as properties fall in value, they are freezing or reducing the lines of credit that their borrowers have."

"The Takeaway" is PRI’s new national morning news program, delivering the news and analysis you need to catch up, start your day, and prepare for what’s ahead. The show is a co-production of WNYC and PRI, in editorial collaboration with the BBC, The New York Times Radio, and WGBH.

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