Chase Turns Off Our Spigot—For Now at Least
Here’s an interesting twist in our refinancing story. We received in the mail earlier this week the following notice from Chase, which is the provider of both our current mortgage and our Home Equity Line of Credit: With home values falling in many parts of the country, we’ve used a proven valuation method to estimate…
Here’s an interesting twist in our refinancing story. We received in the mail earlier this week the following notice from Chase, which is the provider of both our current mortgage and our Home Equity Line of Credit:
With home values falling in many parts of the country, we’ve used a proven valuation method to estimate your home’s value at $1,000,000. Unfortunately, that valuation no longer supports the full amount of your Line of Credit, so we are suspending future draws again your account as of May 15, 2009.
Say what? Leaving aside for a moment our suspicion that their “proven valuation method” did not take into account the fact that ours is a five-story house, the most interesting part of this is the perverse incentive it creates: After we finished our renovation in late 2005, our HELOC was pretty close to maxed out at $62,500. Since then, we’ve chipped away a few hundred dollars a month at the principal, so that the balance is now around $47,000. (Our credit score, as of last week, was the equivalent of an “A+”, according to our Chase refinancing so that can’t have anything to do with it.) So now, instead of continuing to reduce our balance, we’re going to just pay off the interest, since we know we can’t tap the line in the future if we needed to. The appraiser came for our mortgage refi yesterday morning; if that goes okay, we should have a decent case to make for unfreezing the line of credit. Regardless, the “proven valuation method” sounds like some very unnuanced generalizing at best and suspiciously like the beginnings of some old-school red-lining at worst. If, for example, the computer is using zip codes to group areas by risk, then it has no way of differentiating between a house on Classon and a house on Clinton. Or if it’s merely using physical proximity, our house could be impacted by comps a half-mile away on a less valuable block of Bed Stuy. Scary.
When I did my refi in February with Chase, the agent told me that Chase is phasing out HELOCs. My refi sailed through, the appraisal was good but the HELOC terms they offered me kept shifting. Finally the HELOC they offered me was ridiculously expensive and limited to 1/2 the amount I wanted. I bailed and opened one with TD Bank at great terms. If Chase doesn’t want your HELOC money, other banks do.
“Naw, slopefarm. This story will be like a triple shot of espresso for him. ”
More like the old school strip club “Happy go lucky” in Flatbush! That place was the shit, like a Petting Zoo!
Hey guys I’m on some new shit! What is going to happen to all the new Condo construction when it goes rental????? Nobody is addressing that shit!!!
The What (5 months of life support left)
Someday this war is gonna end…
“…we’ve used a proven valuation method to estimate your home’s value at $1,000,000.”
Hey!!! That’s half off!!! I’m suing for infringement!!!
***Bid half off peak comps***
“The market is a continuum. Welcome to the crash. ROTW’s not up yet. So allow me…”
Thanks BHO! What’s cracking Homeskillet! Oh I think it’s the MAB! Hey BHO go to Costco and load up on some popcorn and a nice lawn chair! The mushroom cloud is going to be real pretty!
“how does one just pay the interest on their HELOC?”
Grab your ankles!
“Very funny, BHO. You gonna wake him up and make him some coffee? He’s late.”
Went to see “Terminator Salvation” last night! Now Chase is paying “Annnnoooolllddddd”
The What (I’ll be back)
Someday this war is gonna end…
Ker-boom!
I would think they use a tool very similar to the comps valuation churned out by Pshark: look at recent sales by zip and or radius, divide by square footage and voilà ! All done. It doesn’t really account for the condition of the properties right now, because so few deals are being done (in part because of the tightening of credit.)
I would think that the recent sales of 306 St James ($229/sq ft) and 405 Clinton ($277/sq ft) make the bank think current value in that zip code is $250/sq ft, which of course is true for all cash wrecks. It’s classic bureaucratic behavior, too much followed by too little, all the while never assessing competently what is happening.
They’re doing this to everyone – it’s happening quite a bit in Manhattan too. They’re then forcing borrowers (at their own expense) to hire appraisers to provide a value that proves Chase’s “proven valuation method” wrong.
It’s a ridiculous process and they’re doing it to some of the best customers… but it’s definitely not a form of red-lining.
Naw, slopefarm. This story will be like a triple shot of espresso for him. I asked a question in the Amalfi Coast thread that I’m going to repeat: Are there sharks off the coast?
***Bid half off peak comps***
“The appraiser came for our mortgage refi yesterday morning; if that goes okay, we should have a decent case to make for unfreezing the line of credit. Regardless, the “proven valuation method” sounds like some very unnuanced generalizing at best and suspiciously like the beginnings of some old-school red-lining at worst.”
Good morning Retards! You know something? I hate when I’m right!
The only thing the Appraiser is going to unfreeze is your brains Brownstoner! If you was smart kill the appraisal and start paying down the mortgage but, you and other retards believe the hype!
“like the beginnings of some old-school red-lining at worst”
Here Dumbasses suck it it down–Maximum Financing in Declining Markets Fannie Mae.
Warring PDF- https://www.efanniemae.com/sf/guides/ssg/annltrs/pdf/2007/0722.pdf
Declining Markets is a legal way of Redlining! Plus since you retards live in the Ghetto every Bank is running for the hills now. No Refinance Game Over!
“of, for example, the computer is using zip codes to group areas by risk, then it has no way of differentiating between a house on Classon and a house on Clinton. Or if it’s merely using physical proximity, our house could be impacted by comps a half-mile away on a less valuable block of Bed Stuy. Scary.”
Oh no Brownstoner! When everything was going “up” there was no problems, so why is there a problem now????!!!! I’ll tell you- You thought everything was going to be smooth. Hi-Jack the Ghetto, put asshead shops here, price everyone out and conquer! Now the whole thing is falling apart, ROTFLMMFAO!! The collapse of the Mutant Asset Bubble is a slight to behold!!!
Next! Thanks for playing!
The What (Buh Bye Retards! Nice knowing ya!)
Very funny, BHO. You gonna wake him up and make him some coffee? He’s late.