While a majority of homeowners see good value in borrowing against the equity they have in their homes, a survey found that they also tend to believe the step should be taken only in case of an emergency.
Even among those owners who already had a home equity loan, nearly two-thirds said in the survey that borrowing against their nest is an emergency-only situation. And one in four — as opposed to six in 10 homeowners in general — said the idea of an equity-based loan made them uncomfortable.
"People are open" to home equity loans, "but they are cautious," said Kerri Ryan of Ipsos Marketing, which surveyed 1,000 homeowners last month on behalf of the Consumer Bankers Association.
The aim of the survey, which was released Monday at a CBA conference in Orlando, Fla., was to determine if equity lending is still relevant in today's depressed housing market. Ipsos found that 25% of those polled expect they will need to borrow money at some point in the next five years. About half of those said they would consider home equity-based products to cover those expenses, but they'd also consider other lending options as well.
