Las Vegas Real Estate

Las Vegas Homes | Real Estate Las Vegas Real Estate and Homes Las Vegas Homes Search Homes New Homes Resale Homes Highrise Condos Rentals Homes by City Las Vegas Henderson Boulder City Mesquite Pahrump North Las Vegas Mount Charleston Las Vegas Communities Aliante Anthem Camino Del Norte and Elk Horn Canyon Gate Centennial Hills Desert Shores Green Valley Green Valley Ranch Lake Las Vegas MacDonald Ranch Painted Desert Peccole Ranch Queensridge Red Rock Country Club Rhodes Ranch Seven Hills Siena Solera at Anthem South Valley Ranch Southern Highlands Summerlin Sun City Aliante Sun City Anthem Sun City Summerlin Sunset Village The Lakes Foreclosures HUD and VA Bank Repos Knowledge Center MLS map Home appreciation Real Estate Glossary Airport Noise Map Las Vegas Blog Las Vegas Photos Search New Homes Search Resale Homes FLASH REPORT: Daily Email Updates. Sign up here! Search about 5,000 RESALE homes in Las Vegas and Henderson. Online database with all resale homes available. We will send you detailed information about any house you will like (including address, directions, picture and detailed description). You can also search all NEW homes for sale. The Top Builders in Las Vegas - See Photos and Floor plans - Visit the Communities - Request a List of Homes that match your Criteria. Everything about buying home in Las Vegas High-rise condominiums - Description of the Las Vegas Communities - A few easy steps to buy your new home - MLS Las Vegas (Multiple Listing Service) - 2003 Home & Condos Sales Report! - International Real Estate Buyers Las Vegas House Values What is CMA (Competitive Market Analysis)? How to get CMA by email for free? If you're planning to sell your home in the next 12 months, this FREE service is designed to help establish your home's current market value or suggested listing price. This service is available for sellers only. For your current Home Value click here! One time flat fee to sell your home . New program offer. Only $2,995 Sell your home for low 1.9% commission including advertising and full service. Your house will be advertised on REALTOR.com, BuyVegasHome.com, Yahoo.com Real Estate Classifieds, Homeseekers.com, LasVegasRealtor.com and other websites. Read more about our marketing plan . We will pay for the best quality and the most expensive virtual tour available on the market (iPIX with true 360x360 view). We will also put your house in to the MLS and will take care about paperwork with transaction. Read complete information about our winning marketing plan... How to set Listing price? In setting the list price for your home, there are several things to consider. Try to think like a home buyer. Based on a list of houses for sale in your neighborhood, buyers will determine which houses they want to view. Read here about how to set listing price . Financing & Loans Read about 100% financing loans We've got you covered: - 100% Interest only from 600 credit score, 1 day out of bankruptcy okay - Interest Only from 560 credit score, 1 day out of bankruptcy - 100% Stated Income Loans - No Doc Loans from 720 - First time homebuyer from 580 credit score - 95% loan with a 540 credit score Frequently Asked Questions about Financing Commercial real estate , office space lease, retail space and land - Commercial Lease and Tenant Representation - Investment Real Estate - Land Acquisition and Sales Contact us for buying or selling home Shawn Phillips Call: 702-279-3512 Richard Teausaw Call: 702-215-1549 Diane Moon Call: 702-245-8950 Las Vegas Homes - Las Vegas New Homes - Las Vegas Resale Homes - Las Vegas Homes for rent - Sell your house Please stop by at our office 5348 Vegas Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89108 Call toll-free: (800) 380-2215 John Vanhara President & Broker Office: (702) 212-3513 Email: info@millionsaver.com Considering a career in real estate? You've just found the company that's continuing to set new standards in Las Vegas' evolving real estate market! There are incredible opportunities waiting for you! © 2002-2005 MillionSaverHomes.com. All rights Reserved

Real Estate Loan

CNN/Money: Real Estate Web CNN/Money Home News Markets Technology Commentary Personal Finance Autos Real Estate Real Estate MONEY GALLERY Living la bonne vie Buying a home in the French countryside is a dream worth exploring. See 7 homes on the market now. ( more ) Video California housing market UCLA group predicts that real estate will slow, but state won't succumb to recession. CNN's Andy Serwer reports. ( more ) How to buy and build on rural land Dreaming of the perfect country getaway? Here's how to be sure you don't get taken. ( more ) Most overvalued housing markets Latest analysis of 299 markets: See how your hometown ranks. ( more ) When booms go bust... Home prices can and do go down. Here's what declines have looked like in the past. ( more ) Forecast: 100 markets Help with the loan hunt Most profitable renovations Some home improvements can recoup a lot, even all, of their costs. ( more ) MORTGAGE UPDATE 30-year mortgage: lowest in 2 months Dec 29: 11:14a Rates edge lower in the latest week but remain up considerably from a year earlier. ( more ) RATE SEARCH No points only 15 Year Fixed conforming - $165,000 15 Year Fixed jumbo - $385,000 30 Year Fixed conforming - $165,000 30 Year Fixed jumbo - $385,000 1 Year ARM conforming - $165,000 1 Year ARM jumbo - $385,000 3/1 Year ARM conforming - $165,000 3/1 Year ARM jumbo - $385,000 5/1 Year ARM conforming - $165,000 5/1 Year ARM jumbo - $385,000 7/1 Year ARM conforming - $165,000 7/1 Year ARM jumbo - $385,000 Select State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana North Carolina North Dakota Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington DC West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming ESSENTIALS Money 101: Buying a home Top things to know The hunt Are you ready? Closing the deal Lining up cash For sellers only Picking a team Glossary MORE ESSENTIALS: Choosing the best mortgage Take a bite out of closing costs How to make your home sellable MONEY LIST Latest home prices: 147 markets tracked Third quarter numbers are in for nearly 147 markets. How does your home town stack up? ( more ) Market Growth 1. Phoenix, AZ 55.2% 2. Orlando, FL 44.8% 3. Fort Myers, FL 42.5% 4. Tuscon, AZ 34.7% 5. Daytona, FL 33.8% MORE LISTS: Million-dollar markets Most expensive markets CALCULATORS Renovation Wizard Compare cost of living How much house can you afford? Money Magazine -- Try an issue of MONEY FREE! Subscribe and SAVE! REAL ESTATE ARCHIVE Dec 29: 10:46a Home sales fall, inventories jump Dec 28: 7:22a Mortgage applications at 3-1/2 year low Dec 27: 2:04p 1 BR @ Plaza, no park view: $2M Dec 19: 11:59a Is it time to cash out? Dec 22: 12:37p Fastest-growing states Dec 19: 9:22a Neighbors behaving badly Dec 23: 11:58a New home sales tumble 11 percent Dec 21: 6:29a The boom that won't die Dec 20: 2:39p Feds fret over innovative mortgages Dec 14: 3:50p Least affordable rental markets Dec 19: 3:49p Protect your home in 2006 Dec 12: 2:47p Take this home market...and love it Dec 13: 11:15a Double jeopardy for landlords Dec 8: 2:01p There go 800,000 jobs out the door Dec 7: 1:13p Real estate investors bailing out? Dec 9: 3:02p Overvalued housing markets decline Dec 8: 4:37p 'Take this house and shove it' Dec 1: 4:02p Help with the loan hunt Dec 1: 12:34p Home prices rise but pace slows More »» CNN Money contact us | subscribe to Money magazine advertising -- | site map | glossary | RSS | press room OTHER NEWS: CNN | SI | Fortune | Business 2.0 | Time © 2005 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms under which this service is provided to you. privacy policy Reprints of site stories are available.

Buy Property

Sell Land Homes Acreage Lots Real Estate Property Ads or Buy FSBO Sell Your Property Contact HOME | SITE MAP | SERVICES | ADVERTISING | REALTORS & MARKETERS | BUYERS ADS | CLASSIFIED ADS | LINKS | USER NOTICE | TESTIMONIALS | CONTACT INFO | AD RATES Featured Links: Ad Request Form Classified Ads International Property Ads Other U.S. Property Ads Real Estate Wanted United States Map U.S. State Ads Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Sell Your Property Worldwide Real Estate Property Advertising U.S. Property Advertiser Buy or Sell Land And Real Estate Properties For Sale By Owner Buy or sell land, United States and International properties, homes and other real estate property for sale by owner! Property buyers can find real estate advertised for sale in many areas. Many investment properties available here are excellent choices for building a vacation property or a new custom home. Real estate and land properties are available to buy for investment purposes including vacant lots, hunting land and farmland, waterfront and lake view property and also commercial land for sale - FSBO. Many of the properties advertised are vacant land real estate parcels. Whether you are selling land or a property buyer, this is a place where real estate properties can be bought and sold. Do you have a house for sale, or a vacant land parcel that you want to sell? Advertise to sell real estate property for sale by owner and avoid paying a commission after the sale. Many previous clients selling property have sold their property by advertising here, even after having no success trying elsewhere. Land buyers can also place property wanted ads! Just fill out the Ad Submit Form for more details. Buying Property If you see property that you are interested in, please contact the seller directly. Buyers Ads Selling Property Advertise real estate property that you want to sell so buyers can see your ad! Ad Request Form Real Estate Agents, Brokers, Realtors Realtors Ads Waterfront Acreage 20 Acres, Waterfront Acreage For Sale: Port Ludlow, Washington Australian Ocean View Property Mackay, Queensland Australia Property For Sale Want to sell your property by owner? Place your ad on our website. Call: 541-683-4777 or Toll-Free in the USA: 866-541-4777 Buy or Sell Property - For Sale By Owners Advertise Here! Advertise Properties, Buy or Sell Land, Acreage, Businesses, Homes, Timeshares, Vacation Properties, Waterfront Lands, Etc. Contact Us For Advertising Information. E-Mail: inbox@uspropertyadvertiser.com Resources: Visit the VA Mortgage Center for a VA Home Loan Featured Links: Ad Request Form Classified Ads International Property Ads Other U.S. Property Ads Real Estate Wanted United States Map U.S. State Ads Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Sell Your Property ConsumerResources Inc. & U.S. Property Advertiser Inc. Toll-Freein the USA: 866-541-4777 - Phone: 541-683-4777 E-mail: info@uspropertyadvertiser.com - Network: www.uspropertyadvertiser.com - MailingAddress: 2852 Willamette St. #252, Eugene, OR 97405 2002-2005 Consumer Resources Inc. All information posted here is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. This is strictly an advertising site of properties for sale by owner. We do not handle any real estate transactions or function in any way as a real estate agent. Advertise to sell by owner any type of real estate. Homes for sale, land sales, land auctions, property sales, timeshares, vacant lots, and more.

Foreclosure Property

Investing in Pre-foreclosures and Foreclosed Property THE SOURCE FOR INFORMATION ON FORECLOSURE OUR MOST POPULAR PAGES Bank Foreclosures - REO Pre-Foreclosure Homes Foreclosure Help Foreclosures Discussion Real Estate Investing Sites FORECLOSURE ARTICLES Ready to Invest? Foreclosure Investing 101 Foreclosure Investing 111 Buying at Trustee's Sale Finding Foreclosures Determining Property Value Real Estate Foreclosures FORECLOSURE RESOURCES CA Foreclosure Time-Line Investment Tools Sources for Comps CA County Resources Real Estate Definitions INFORMATION & LINKS Foreclosure Industry Links Avoiding Foreclosure Scams Equity Buyout Scams Trustees and Posting Co.'s "How To" Information Curb Appeal Importance HOME MAIL Investing in Pre-foreclosures and Foreclosed Property Would you buy a house for $150,000 if you could buy the house next door in the same condition for $100,000? If you are a smart investor, I'm going to bet you wouldn't. If you are just beginning as an investor and need information, how are you going to get it and how much are you going to pay? THE SAME CONCEPT APPLIES! You can easily get a basic understanding of the stages of foreclosure, how to purchase property at each stage of the process and ways to obtain financing for your purchase for free or at a very nominal cost. Libraries, bookstores and many websites all offer free or low cost information. Obtain the basic information, read it once, then continue reading it until you KNOW all the material. Your success is not going to be handed to you, you have to become an authority on the investment approach you choose. The confidence and knowledge you will obtain are essential keys to success. No seminar or course costing hundreds or thousands of dollars will put the confidence and knowledge in your mind, YOU have to make the decision and effort to get it there. THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS! Seminars Books and Courses Cash Investors Personal Counselors Recommendations Avoiding Scams Seminars An easy way to spend a lot of money. The personal motivation inspired by the speaker will always last long enough to provide you time to buy the books or courses. If you are truly motivated to become an investor, you don't need a seminar. On a positive note, if you are an active investor and have already bought a course to increase your knowledge, a seminar is one way to allow the author or presenter to expand on their printed material. TOP Books and Courses Available at Libraries, Bookstores and Websites. Balance the cost against the information presented. You can't really argue the benefits of a twenty dollar book against a seventy dollar book, both undoubtedly have good points and bad points. Try to find the most appropriate information for your situation at a reasonable price. Courses costing hundreds of dollars or more should not be purchased by a new investor. When you have the basics down solid and want additional information or specialized information, then consider additional courses. Remember, your success will not be determined by the size of your library, but by your motivation and knowledge. TOP Cash Investors Take our course, we'll back you up financially! Great sales pitch and I'm sure it would happen if the property could be purchased cheap enough, but anyone can find a cash investor. The hardest part is finding the property. You don't know any cash investors? Look in your local Yellow Pages under Real Estate Loans. Look for ads that say "All Credit" or "Any Credit", typically these are hard money lenders(cash lenders) who have investment money. Can't find any? Look in your local newspaper for real estate ads saying "We Buy Houses", these will often be cash investors. Still can't find any? Look in your local legal newspaper for Notices of Sale. A location will be listed where properties in foreclosure are going to be auctioned off. Go to the location at the time specified and talk to the investors who show up. These are investors used to dealing with properties in foreclosure, find out their requirements, get phone numbers and you are all set. TOP Personal Counselors Sign up with us and we'll provide one-on-one help for as long as you need it. Oh, I'm sure they have experienced investors just sitting around waiting for the phone to ring. There are newsgroups where you can have your questions answered, but your best source of help is going to be investment clubs. Clubs are comprised of local investors who will share information and resources with you. They will have a good grasp on area values and should be able to help you more than anyone else. Plus, if you haven't found a cash investor yet, this is a good place to find one or get referred to one. Look in the Yellow Pages under "Clubs","Associations","Real Estate" or various web sites have lists. TOP Recommendations Take a deep breath, relax and plan your success. You'll need information, resources and knowledge. Find a local investment club, ask where and when they meet, go to all the meetings, absorb everything you can and make contacts. Evaluate the books and information you have seen, pick a source and start reading. Follow the web site discussion groups, print articles that have resources or solid information and save them. Read all the articles you can find on different web pages, it will add to your knowledge. Consider completing a Real Estate Licensing Program Many established real estate companies provide subsidized Real Estate Licensing School. If you do not have a background in real estate, this is a fairly inexpensive way to get an education regarding the technical processes involved, what is necessary to sell a home plus all sorts of additional knowledge. Many companies charge a higher fee if you do not get your license and work for their company, so be sure to shop, an independent school might be cheaper. Look in the Yellow Pages under Real Estate Schools. Keep in mind that if you actually obtain your real estate license, you have different legal considerations than if you are unlicensed. Even if you don't actively sell property full-time, when licensed, you are considered a real estate professional. Go to Open Houses Every weekend houses are held open by Realtors. Go to all the open houses in your area every weekend. You'll learn what sells, what doesn't, what the price ranges are in different areas and start to build a knowledge base of property in your area. It takes gasoline and time, but it's the best way to get a feel for what values are in a given area. Build your Resource File Organize your information and file it. Individual properties will come and go, but six months from now, you don't want to find a property that suits a cash investor's requirements and discover that you cannot find the investor's phone number. Or you were supposed to check back with a property owner this week, but you can't find the paperwork and don't remember the address. The only way to keep track of everything is to have organized files that you use. Understand it doesn't happen overnight. Honestly, the first few times you try to put a transaction together, I would expect problems. It's part of the education process. As long as you don't make the same mistakes again, you'll only get better at what you do. Education is the first big hurdle, the second one is experience, and there's only one way to get that. To just do it. TOP When everything is looked at, MOTIVATION is the base for all of it. You have to be motivated to get the education, you have to be motivated to get the experience and you especially have to be motivated to keep on doing it through the times where nothing seems to be going right. ARE YOU MOTIVATED?

home equity lines of

Home Equity Lending Gaps in Texas The Texas Economy March 2003 "Texans need and deserve the right to take out home equity lines of credit.This simple change will pump $741 million back to Texas homeowners." -- Carole Keeton Strayhorn, Texas Comptroller Home Equity Lending Gaps in Texas The number of Texans with home equity loans has more than doubled since 1997 when changes in the Texas constitution made it easier for Texans to borrow against the equity they have in their homes. [1] Yet, Texans are still not taking as many home equity loans as residents in other states. In the traditional home equity lending market—the segment that involves a lump-sum payout of equity to be repaid over a set term—Texans seem to have caught up with the rest of the nation. Indeed, the estimated 6.4 percent of Texas home-owners with traditional home equity loans in 2001 is not only up considerably from 2.5 in 1997 but may well be higher than the average for the other 49 states of 5.7 percent (Figure 1). [2] This most likely reflects the fact that one portion of the home equity loan market—the home equity line of credit market—remains unavailable to Texans. An estimated $12.7 billion in higher-cost, non-tax-deductible loans that currently exist could be supplanted if home equity lines of credit were available and Texans used these financial options at the same rate as other consumers in the country. By taking advantage of a substantially untapped resource, Texas consumers could save $741 million annually using home equity lines of credit instead of other loans. These savings could be pumped into the Texas economy through lower interest rates and additional federal income tax deductions. The gains would be realized in the Texas economy if existing loans were merely paid off by homeowners through home equity lines of credit. This need not expand homeowners’ overall debt burden. Home Equity Lending in Texas For more than 160 years, access to the home equity that owners had built up in their residences was largely untapped. As a direct result of the Panic of 1837, Texas prohibited the forced sale of homesteads for all but a very limited number of reasons. When Texas became a state, these protections became part of the state constitution and effectively barred foreclosing on a person’s residence for reasons other than non-payment of taxes, the original mortgage or a home improvement loan. These same provisions also effectively barred tapping into home equity for purposes other than home improvement. But on November 4, 1997, Texas voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing more leeway in home equity lending and for reverse mortgages. [3] These loans became available to Texans in 1998, but some technical issues limited the availability of home equity loans for homesteads larger than one acre and from reverse mortgages. Subsequent amendments addressed these legal concerns. [4] Changes in the Texas Constitution expanded the conditions under which homeowners could obtain a traditional home equity loan. These closed-end loans extend for a specified length of time and generally require repayment of interest and principal in equal monthly installments. Interest rates on these loans are ordinarily fixed for the life of the loan. Growth in Home Equity Lending in Texas Since changing the Texas constitution to allow wider use of home equity loans, Texans have steadily increased their reliance on these loans. According to American Housing Survey (AHS) data on nine Texas metropolitan areas that cover 68 percent of Texas’ owner-occupied homes, only 2.5 percent of Texas homeowners had any form of home equity loan in 1997, substantially less than the 14.5 percent for all U.S. homeowners outside of Texas that same year. By 1999, the proportion of Texas homeowners with a home equity loan had risen to 4.5 percent. While this represents nearly a doubling of home equity loan usage in just two years, this was still slightly less than the estimated 5 percent rate for home equity loan usage in the nation and substantially less than the 12.9 percent estimated by the AHS that year for both home equity loans and lines of credit. By 2001, the proportion of Texas households with home equity loans had reached 6.4 percent. At this level, the usage in Texas actually exceeded the usage rate of fixed-term closed-end loans in the U.S., indicating that Texans may have reached the saturation point with traditional home equity loans. These loans typically are written for a set amount to be repaid in equal installments over a specified time, just like a traditional mortgage. Based on a survey conducted for the Comptroller of Public Accounts of home equity lenders in Texas, from 1998 to 2000, the amount of the average home equity loan was about $36,750. In 2001 and 2002, the average home equity loan jumped to more than $47,000. [5] Closing the Gap Although Texans’ reliance on home equity loans has grown substantially since the passage of the constitutional amendment, further gains may be unlikely. Other states’ average usage of 14 percent in 2001 included both traditional home equity loans and home equity lines of credit, financial instruments not now available to Texas homeowners. The possibility that the usage rate of traditional home equity loans in Texas exceeded the usage rate of similar loans in the nation probably indicates that without the home equity line of credit option, more homeowners are opting for the fixed term loans—their only other choice. During much of the 1990s, about 8 percent of U.S. homeowners had a home equity line of credit whereas about 5 percent of homeowners had a traditional loan. [6] In 2001, AHS data indicated an estimated 8.4 percent of homeowners had a home equity line of credit (HELOC) and 5.7 percent had traditional home equity loans. This newer form of home equity lending has become the preferred choice by homeowners in other states. A HELOC is a revolving account that permits borrowing from time to time, at the account holder’s discretion, up to a set credit limit. HELOCs also typically have more flexible repayment schedules than traditional home equity loans and have a variable interest rate. Most consumers think home equity lines of credit are more convenient than traditional home equity loans. While about 40 percent of consumers cited the tax advantages of both types of home equity credit as an important consideration, 43 percent of HELOC users cited convenience of use as an advantage, compared with only 1 percent of those using the traditional home equity loans. [7] Many of the major lenders in Texas make HELOC loans to homeowners in other states. Their experiences underscore how attractive this option is to consumers. Figure 2 presents the percentage of the amount of home equity loans and lines of credit written in Georgia, Florida and California by three major Texas lenders. [8] About 88 percent of the consumers in these states choose HELOCs compared with about 12 percent choosing traditional home equity loans. Potential Economic Impact of HELOCs in Texas One approach to examining what expanded home equity lending might mean in Texas is to estimate what consumers would save if they had access to HELOCs. Three issues are crucial when estimating this impact: what savings could be expected from lower interest costs; how much would HELOCs lower federal income tax bills; and how large total borrowing might become. Underlying this assessment is the assumption that if Texans had access to HELOCs the total home equity usage in Texas would approach the U.S. average. This implies that consumer use of both home equity lines of credit and traditional loans would reach about 14 percent, 7.6 percentage points up from the 2001 level, which was 6.4 and consisted of only traditional home equity loans. The true economic value of HELOCs to consumers lies in low interest rates and as a deduction from federal income taxes. For example, recent data from February 2003 show that the average interest rate on credit card debt is 13.8 percent, the rate for new auto loans is 5.8 percent and on home equity lines of credit, 4.4 percent. [9] This implies that on a $1,000 loan, annual credit card interest charges would be $138 whereas these charges would amount to only $44 for the home equity line of credit. On $1,000 in outstanding credit card debt, conversion of this debt to a HELOC would save $94 in interest payments annually. But even this neglects the fact that HELOC interest costs are deductible from federal income taxes, whereas credit card interest charges are not deductible. Although each individual’s exact marginal tax rate paid depends on adjusted gross income, the National Bureau of Economic Research estimates that, on average, in 1999 interest deductions reduced income taxes 24.5 cents per dollar of interest paid. [10] This implies that, on average, the $44 in HELOC interest payments would generate an estimated $10.78 in federal income tax savings so that the total consumer savings per $1,000 in credit card debt replaced by HELOC would be $104.78 annually. Savings from other loans would be less dramatic. Based on current rates, car loans would cost $58 in interest charges per $1,000 borrowed, or only $14 more than HELOC. But tacking on the deductibility of HELOC raises this savings to $24.78 annually per $1,000 borrowed. The loans likely to be displaced by HELOC would be a mixture of credit card loans and other consumer loans such as car loans. According to Federal Reserve loan data, consumer debt nationwide at the end of 2002 was divided into $738.9 billion in revolving loans, of which credit card debt is a large part, and $1,017.9 billion in non-revolving loans. [11] Assuming Texas consumers have a similar debt profile, about 42 percent of Texas consumer debt would be in revolving credit and 58 percent in non-revolving. Based on these shares, the average consumer would save an estimated $58.38 in interest and tax payments per $1,000 owed by switching from other consumer credit sources to HELOC. [12] How much Texans could save depends on the volume of consumer loans displaced. Using 2001 commercial bank data to update national figures indicates that the traditional home equity loan market in the U.S. reached $352.7 billion, up from $267 billion in 1997. Considering Texas’ share of home equity loans and the average per loan value, Texans account for an estimated 8.4 percent of the U.S. market for traditional home equity loans. Based on this percentage and assuming that Texans would use both traditional and HELOC loans at the national rate, Texas consumers would exchange $12.7 billion in existing loans for HELOC. In doing so, Texas homeowners would save $741 million in interest charges and federal income taxes annually. This would be a modest level of savings. The Federal Reserve Board estimates that households spend about 8 percent of their disposable personal income servicing the debt on revolving loans. [13] The $741 million annual savings from increased use of HELOCs would be about 1.7 percent of the annual amount Texans spend on debt service for revolving loans. [14] Home Equity Delinquencies If Texas consumers relied more on home equity lines of credit and followed national trends, loan delinquencies would likely fall. Based on American Bankers Association data (Table 1), Texas averages fewer loan delinquencies for closed-end home equity loans than consumers at the national level. Loan delinquencies did rise in Texas from 1999 to 2001, but dropped off in 2002. Table 1: Texas Home Equity Delinquency Rates Compared to All Other States Home Equity Delinquency Rates and All States First Mortgage Delinquency Rates* Closed-End** Home Equity Loans(1) Home Equity Lines of Credit(1) All States - First Mortgages(2) Texas All States All States Conventional FHA VA 2002 0.99% 1.30% 0.59% 3.06% 11.55% 7.87% 2001 1.17 1.28 0.73 2.96 10.78 7.67 2000 0.88 1.20 0.75 2.50 9.10 6.80 1999 0.77 1.26 0.62 2.60 8.60 6.80 * Delinquency Rates are based on the number of Loans Past Due 30 Days or More as a Percentage of Loans Outstanding. ** "Closed End" includes home equity and second mortgages (but not home improvement). SOURCES (1)Home equity delinquency rates obtained from "Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin" published quarterly by American Bankers Association. (2)First mortgage delinquency rates obtained from "U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2001" and Mortgage Bankers Association of America "Quarterly Delinquency Surveys." But nationwide, loan delinquencies for lines of credit are slightly more than half the rates seen for closed end home equity loans. Based on this pattern, a shift towards using home equity lines of credit from traditional home equity loans should lower overall home equity delinquency rates. Compared with first mortgages, the delinquency rates for both home equity loans and lines of credit are substantially lower. Summary The use of home equity loans in Texas has risen dramatically following constitutional changes in Texas in 1997. Use of closed-end traditional home equity loans in Texas exceeds nationwide use. The fact that home equity lines of credit are not available in Texas contributes to a higher reliance on traditional home equity loans. But the strong consumer preference expressed for HELOCs in other states and consumer preference for their ease of use may indicate that continued expansion of lower interest, tax deductible home equity financing by consumers in Texas may slow without access to these loans. If Texans were to use home equity financing only up to the national average through HELOCs, lower interest payments and lower federal taxes would save Texas consumers $741 million. Making HELOCs available to Texas consumers would require passing another constitutional amendment and legislation proposing such amendments will likely be introduced during the current legislative session. If the nature of consumer safeguards and other requirements on lending institutions in Texas making HELOC loans were significantly more restrictive than national practices, interest rates on these loans in Texas could be higher than national rates, and the economic impacts less. Data Collection While banking and finance are two of the most heavily regulated industries, this level of scrutiny does not always result in the availability of detailed information. Since 1987, banks and finance companies have reported home equity lines of credit under receivables on quarterly Call Reports and since 1991 have also separately reported their holdings of traditional closed-end home equity loans. Mutual savings banks also report these data on Federal Reserve Board Call Reports. Other segments of the financial industry report this information to varying degrees. Savings and loan associations and federal saving banks report credit line receivables on Call Reports, but they do not separate home equity loans from first mortgages. Since June 1996, finance companies have reported commercial and residential mortgages separately but do not distinguish between loans under lines of credit and traditional loans. Credit union data is available on both types of home equity debt from the Credit Union National Association. At the national level, some data track the degree to which consumers utilize the various home equity loan alternatives. Every two years the Federal Reserve Board surveys consumers’ use of credit. This data, while instructive on overall trends and the use of home equity loans and lines of credit, does not contain information about practices in particular states. Moreover, much of the state-specific data collected from financial institutions is available primarily for the location of the financial institution involved, and not where the loan was made. Where this data are available, coverage by type of financing (home equity loan versus line of credit) is limited. The Texas-specific data in this analysis is derived largely from two sources. First, the U.S. Bureau of the Census surveys about 60,000 Americans every two years about housing conditions. This survey includes questions about the usage of home equity loans, but only the most recent survey, from 2001, elicits responses on traditional home equity loans separately from home equity lines of credit. Because this survey is national, there is only partial coverage of Texas. Specifically, publicly available data from the survey identifies only responses coming from nine metropolitan areas in Texas. Although the sample does contain responses from non-metropolitan areas, these are not identified by state. The Census survey covers about 68.2 percent of the Texas population. The second source of data is internal surveys of lending activity conducted by lending institutions doing business in Texas. These institutions cover more than 10 percent of the Texas market for commercial financial institutions and financial companies. These data are used to identify the potential to expand home equity lending in Texas if lines of credit became available. Endnotes [1] In 1997 and before, availability of home equity loans in Texas was limited to home improvement loans, loans to pay outstanding taxes and loans allowing one spouse to “buy out” another in the case of divorce. Such loans were typically known as a second lien against the property. Homeowners could not secure a loan backed by the equity in their home and use the proceeds of the loan for purposes other than those specified in law. Outside of Texas, using home equity loan proceeds for whatever purpose and even the more flexible home equity line of credit (a revolving line of credit secured by home equity) have been widely available for years. [2] The tentative nature of this statement stems from what seems to be respondent confusion to the American Housing Survey (AHS). In the 2001 AHS, 14 Texas households identified themselves as having a home equity line of credit in 2001. Since these lines of credit currently cannot be offered in Texas, the most likely explanation for this is that these respondents misunderstood the “line of credit” option in the survey as describing the “draw down” feature of a home improvement loan during construction when, in fact, these instances were almost certainly traditional “closed end” loans. Placing these responses in that category indicates that 6.4 percent of the homeowners in the survey in Texas had a closed-end home equity loan as compared to only 5.7 percent in states outside of Texas. [3] House Joint Resolution 31 (HJR 31) passed by the 1997 Legislature that, upon passage, became effective January 1, 1998. [4] On November 2, 1999, Texas voters approved constitutional amendments proposed by the 1999 Legislature to address these problems, Senate Joint Resolutions 12 and 22 (SJR 12 and 22). [5] Data submitted by lenders in early 2003. For number and amount of loans in Texas, the survey included five large Texas lenders. [6] Glenn B. Canner, Thomas A. Durkin and Charles A. Luckett, “Recent Developments in Home Equity Lending,” Federal Reserve Bulletin, April 1998, p. 243. [7] Canner, Durkin and Luckett, pp. 241- 251. [8] From data submitted by lenders. Together these three lenders serve more than 10 percent of the commercial banking market in Texas. [9] These rates and those of HELOCs are from http://www.bankrate.com/ on February 18, 2003. The credit card rate is for a standard card (not gold or platinum) at a fixed annual rate. The auto loan figure refers to a 48-month loan for a new car. The HELOC rate is for a $10,000 or minimum amount. [10] http://www.nber.org/~taxsim/mrates/mrates2.html , February 20, 2003. [11] Federal Reserve Board Statistical Release, G.19, Consumer Credit, February 7, 2003. http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/current/ . [12] This is a fairly conservative assessment on two points. First it assumes that consumers would replace current borrowing in proportion to the amount borrowed of each type without consideration of the interest rates charged for each type of borrowing. A more rational approach would be to replace all of the most costly borrowing first. Secondly, new car financing rates are among the lowest cost loans available and this probably underestimates the interest costs of non-revolving loans. [13] http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/housedebt/default.htm , February 19,2003. [14] Disposable personal income in Texas is estimated to be $535.2 billion in 2001. Carole Keeton Strayhorn Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Window on State Government Contact Us Privacy and Security Policy