Home Equity Lending Has Returned, but It Will Cost You

The Fed recently reported that Americans lost over 60% of their home equity between 2007 and 2009. So it's no surprise that millions of homeowners also lost the ability to borrow against the home equity they once had. In the states hardest hit by the foreclosure tsunami, like California, Nevada and Florida, home equity lending has been virtually nonexistent the past couple of years, for a short list of reasons.